Akira Eto hit a grand slam to break a scoreless deadlock with two out in the fourth inning and the front-running Seibu Lions went on to blank the Nippon Ham Fighters 6-0 in the Pacific League on Wednesday.
Chiba Lotte starter Shingo Ono delivers a pitch against the Tohoku Rakuten Eagles at Chiba Marine
Stadium on Wednesday. The Marines won 7-0.
KYODO PHOTODaisuke Matsuzaka (16-4) celebrated his 26th birthday in style, pitching a five-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts and two walks, getting fan favorite Tsuyoshi Shinjo to strike out swinging to end the game at Sapporo Dome. It was Matsuzaka's second shutout of the season.
With the victory, Seibu took a 1 1/2 game lead over Hokkaido Nippon Ham and one game over the idle Fukuoka Softbank Hawks.