Yu Darvish came within three outs of pitching his second straight complete-game shutout on Friday as the right-hander made another strong start to help the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters to a 3-1 win over the slumping Orix Buffaloes.
Yomiuri pitcher Tetsuya Utsumi delivers a pitch during the Giants' game against the Yakult Swallows at Tokyo Dome on Friday. Yomiuri won 3-1.
KYODO PHOTODarvish (4-1) held Orix to two hits before giving up a ninth-inning leadoff homer to Greg LaRocca at Sapporo Dome in his fifth complete game of the season, following a two-hit shutout of the Chiba Lotte Marines on April 26.
The right-hander allowed three hits, struck out seven, walked one and also hit two batters.