TOKYO — Bobby Valentine's Chiba Lotte Marines won the fog-shortened first game of the Japan Series behind a two-run home run from Saint Louis and Hawai'i Pacific alum Benny Agbayani.

Toshiaki Imae went 4 for 4 with a solo homer and two RBIs yesterday to lead the Chiba Lotte Marines to a 10-1 victory over the Hanshin Tigers in the opener of the Japan Series that ended after seven innings.

Agbayani added a two-run homer in the seventh, and the game was delayed 30 minutes by fog that rolled in off Tokyo Bay. The umpires then called the game, a first for a Japan Series contest.

It was a first for Valentine, the former New York Mets manager.

"I remember in the minors, once there was a sandstorm and the game got sanded out," Valentine said. "But never fog."

Imae homered in the first inning and doubled in a run in the fifth to give the Marines a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven championship series. The Marines are aiming for their first title since 1974.