Kazuo Matsui
Yomiuri Giants' starter Tetsuya Utsumi and relievers Scott Mathieson, Tetsuya Yamaguchi and Kentaro Nishimura combined on a nine-hit shutout to beat the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles and take one-game lead in the Series. Even though they failed to score in the game, the Eagles had several scoring opportunities. Their leadoff man reached base in six innings and they also ended six innings with at least one runner in scoring position. Eagles' rookie-starter Takahiro Norimoto performed well, holding the Giants to only four hits through eight and a third innings. The Giants' two runs came from a Hisayoshi Chono RBI-single in the fifth inning and Shuichi Murata's solo homerun in the top of the eighth. In the bottom half of the inning, Giants' outfielder Yoshiyuki Kamei stopped a potential game-tying play by making an impressive catch at the wall to retire Kazuo Matsui with runners on first and second with two outs.