A solo home run from Akinori Iwamura was all Yakult needed as the Swallows shut down the Yomiuri Giants’ powerful offense with a 1-0 victory Thursday night at the Tokyo Dome.

Yakult right-hander Kevin Hodges (4-2) picked up the win after scattering three hits and four walks in six innings.

“I go after every team the same,” said Hodges, when asked after the game if he pitched any differently against the Giants. “But it did feel pretty good to win against them tonight.”

Hirotoshi Ishii notched three strikeouts in two innings of middle relief and Shingo Takatsu survived a ninth-inning scare to record his 10th save.

With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Yomiuri pinch-hitter Koji Goto lobbed a single to right field. Giants manager Tatsunori Hara then sent pinch-runner Takahiro Suzuki to first base as Shinnosuke Abe, the potential game-winning run, came to bat.

Takatsu attempted to keep Suzuki close to the bag, making three throws to first base before delivering his first pitch to Abe. Suzuki ran on the second pitch, but Yakult catcher Atsuya Furuta made a perfect throw to second base to beat Suzuki to the bag and record the final out of the game.

Yomiuri starter Masumi Kuwata (2-3) got off to a strong start, retiring the first five batters he faced, before Iwamura slammed a 138-kph fastball four rows into the right field bleachers in the second inning for the game’s only run.

The Giants wasted little time getting on base. Takayuki Shimizu led off the first inning with a single to left field and advanced to second on Tomohiro Nioka’s sacrifice bunt.

Hideki Matsui then hit into a fielder’s choice, allowing Shimizu to move to third. That brought Akira Eto, who belted a grand slam in the Giants 11-1 win over Yakult Wednesday night, up to the plate.

Hodges challenged Eto with four straight fastballs before getting him to pop up in foul territory to first baseman Roberto Petagine to end the threat.

It was the first of several surprisingly good defensive plays for Petagine, who is better known for his home run displays than his glove work.

Yomiuri suffered an additional setback in the seventh inning when right fielder Yoshinobu Takahashi was injured while attempting to catch a line drive from Iwamura.

Takahashi was carried off the field on a stretcher after the ball hit him in the groin.

Tigers 8, BayStars 0
At Yokohama Stadium, Hanshin’s Kei Igawa went the distance, limiting the BayStars to two hits and striking out nine for his seventh victory as the BayStars lost their 10th straight game.

Derrick White went 4-for-5 and drove in two runs for the Tigers.