Yomiuri Giants star hurler Koji Uehara, who tied the league for the most wins with 17 this season, on Monday won his second Sawamura Award for the best starting pitcher in 2002.

"It's an award you can't win unless all your stats are top class and I'm very honored to be chosen," said Uehara.

In his fourth season as a pro, Uehara led his team to a Central League pennant with a 17-5 record including 10 straight wins. The Tokyo-native first won the award as a rookie in 1999.

Uehara finished the regular season with 182 strikeouts over 204 innings and with an earned run average of 2.60, higher than the 2.50 standard set by the selection judges but was a unanimous choice by the five-man panel.

In the Japan Series opener on Saturday, Uehara struck out 12 -- one outside the series record -- to take the Giants past the Seibu Lions 4-1.

The 27-year-old is also scheduled to return to the mound in Game 6, if necessary.

"I'll do everything to ensure I don't let down the name of Sawamura," he said.

Seibu right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka, who was handed the loss against the Giants on Saturday, took the award for the first time last year.

The annual honor is named after the late Eiji Sawamura, the legendary Yomiuri Giants fastballer who had a career 62-22 record and a 1.71 ERA in the early days of Japanese professional baseball.

Sawamura died in combat while serving in Japan's military during World War II in 1944.

At one time the award was given only to pitchers in the Central League but was expanded in 1989 to include PL hurlers as well.