TOKYO (Interstat) — Bobby Dalbec hit a three-run home run in the first inning and the Yomiuri Giants held off the Yakult Swallows 8-6 on Tuesday night at Meiji Jingu Stadium.

Yomiuri scored three runs in the first, two in the second, two in the fourth and one in the ninth. Yakult answered with single runs in the first and second, two in the third and two in the fifth. The Giants had nine hits, while the Swallows had 16. Yomiuri also had two sacrifice hits.

Hideki Nagaoka went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs for Yakult. Shunsuke Sasaki was 2-for-5 with an RBI for Yomiuri. Dalbec finished 1-for-4 with three RBIs.

Yuji Akahoshi earned the win, improving to 6-2. Kojiro Yoshimura took the loss, falling to 4-9. Raidel Martinez pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his 35th save.

Attendance was 28,663, and the game lasted 3 hours 55 minutes. Yomiuri improved to 61-51-2, while Yakult dropped to 50-61-1.