Japan had two nail-biting 1-0 games decided by late solo homers, Gregory Polanco was a Marine hero again, Leo Cedeno was the big Buffaloes basher, unheralded Carp rookie Shohei Mori had a game as did Eagles rookie Masaru Fuji, who was the benefactor of a big day from Hideto Asamura.

Deniers 1, Giants 0, 12 innings: At Tokyo Dome, Shugo Maki’s 14^th home run broke up this scoreless game in the 12^th, and Yasuaki Yamasaki earned his 20^th save.