TOKYO (Interstat) — Shosei Togo pitched seven scoreless innings as the Yomiuri Giants shut out the Yakult Swallows 2-0 on Tuesday, May 19 at Meiji Jingu Stadium. Togo allowed five hits and struck out five while walking none. He improved to 1-1 on the season. Taisei Ota recorded his third save with a perfect ninth inning, striking out one. Kota Hirayama put the Giants ahead with a solo home run to left field in the first inning. Takumi Ohshiro added an RBI single later in the frame. Yomiuri finished with seven hits, while Yakult managed six. Swallows starter Keiji Takahashi took the loss after allowing two runs on six hits over five innings. He struck out six but was hurt by the two-run first. Giants right fielder Hirayama went 1-for-4. The game featured a pitchers’ duel after the first inning. Neither team scored after the first. The Giants improved to 24-18, while the Swallows dropped to 26-17. The game drew 16,366 fans and lasted 2 hours, 52 minutes.