Giant party …

Yomiuri tops Yakult, wraps up 34th CL title

A combination of strong pitching and a powerful lineup mixed with veteran leadership and just enough youthful energy, the Yomiuri Giants came into this season as the overwhelming favorites to win the Central League title.

The team made prognosticators nationwide look smart on Friday, wrapping up its 34th league title [43 overall, counting the one-league system championships] by taking down the Yakult Swallows 6-4 at Tokyo Dome.

Ace Tetsuya Utsumi (14-6) allowed four runs in six innings, departing after allowing a tying three-run homer to Ryuji Miyade in the sixth, but still got the victory when Hisayoshi Chono smacked a two-run single in the bottom of the frame.

Skipper Tatsunori Hara gave credit where he thought it was most due for the team’s first title since 2009.

“We wouldn’t have been able to do any of this without you, the fans. On behalf of each and every one on the team I would like to say, congratulations on the championship,” Hara told the packed house at The Big Egg.

But in reality, his All-Star catcher Shinnosuke Abe -- who belted his 26th homer in the second for the first run, and added an RBI single in the third – will likely score the league MVP for his efforts this season.

The 33-year-old only trails in home runs in his quest to win the triple crown.

“We all just came together as a team,” Hara said.

That was not the case for the Swallows, who came back from an early deficit but lost the lead late and saw the game end when Shinichi Tekeuchi wandered off too far from first base [with two outs] only to get picked off by Abe.

DRAGONS 3, TIGERS 2

Tony Blanco saved Chunichi from being no-hit, smacking a seventh-inning homer [his 24th] after Masahiro Araki and Kazuhiro Wada had walked, and the Dragons came from behind to top Hanshin at Koshien Stadium.

BAYSTARS 3, CARP 1

Pinch-hitter Tatsuya Shimozono’s bases-clearing triple in the seventh helped host Yokohama come back to win [and stop a seven-game skid] over fading Hiroshima, which has dropped six straight.

PACIFIC LEAGUE

LIONS 4, FIGHTERS 2

Hideto Asamura homered to open the game for host Seibu and tied the score in the eighth with a clutch single, and Hiroyuki Nakajima slugged a two-run triple that gave the Lions a win over front-running Nippon Ham.

The rally came right after reliever Randy Williams (4-3) did a Houdini act by getting two outs with the bases loaded in the top of the eighth. Starter Ryoma Nogami got nothing for his efforts, but shut the Fighters down over his last 6.1 innings after allowing two first-inning runs.

MARINES 3, BUFFALOES 1

Katsuya Kakunaka and Saburo Omura each knocked in runs in the first, and Ikuhiro Kiyota added an RBI double in the second as Lotte backed Yoshihisa Naruse (12-10) early and the helped the lefty break a personal five-game skid in a victory at The Q.

HAWKS 1, EAGLES 1, 10 INNINGS

Kenta Imamiya’s RBI single in the second got SoftBank even with host Rakuten and neither team could push across another run as the teams played to a stalemate.