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NPB news: March 29, 2024

Japan swung into action with its major league openers Friday, with the Chunichi Dragons drawing first blood. Having finished last in scoring the past three seasons, the Dragons got a first-inning run off Cy Sneed at Jingu Stadium to set off the season’s first run-scoring celebration.

Friday’s games

Giants 4, Tigers 0: At Tokyo Ugly Dome, the Giants’ 35-year-old Takayuki Kajitani robbed Shota Morishita of an ice-breaking third-inning double with a diving catch and started an inning-ending double play before belting a two-run homer in the fifth that made it 3-0. Shosei Togo pitched six innings to win his first career Opening Day and give new skipper Shinnosuke Abe a perfect record.

Giants closer Taisei Ota, who was hurt in the first week of spring training and pitched in just two exhibitions, struck out three of the four batters he faced in the ninth.

BayStars 4, Carp 3: At Yokohama Stadium, DeNA eclipsed its franchise single-game attendance figure with an Opening Day crowd of 33,312, eight more than the previous mark set Aug. 10, and they got a show from rookie Ryuki Watarai. He became the franchise’s first player to open his pro career with a major league homer on Opening Day with a game-tying three-run shot in his second at-bat.

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