Fourth-year right-hander Kan Otake came within four outs of pitching a perfect game and got plenty of run support from Takahiro Arai, who went 3-for-4 with three RBIs as the Hiroshima Carp routed the Yokohama BayStars 8-1 in the Central League on Tuesday.
Otake (3-11) retired the first 23 batters he faced before Seiichi Uchikawa singled with two outs in the eighth to break the streak and Takahiro Ishii hit a two-out solo homer to right in the ninth inning at Big N Stadium.
The 23-year-old struck out six batters with no walks while allowing two hits and pitched a complete game for the first time in two years -- his career second time overall.
Daisuke Miura (7-10) was roughed up for seven runs -- five unearned -- on seven hits in three innings of work. Hiroshima sent 11 batters to the plate in a six-run third, featuring two singles from Otake, and Tomonori Maeda added a solo blast in the fifth.