Veteran right-hander Yuki Tanaka pitched one-run ball over seven-plus innings Sunday, leading the Orix Buffaloes to a 5-2 win over the Seibu Lions.
Tanaka (1-0), appearing for the first time in two years in the starting role, walked the first batter then retired 19 in a row until surrendering a single to Hiroyuki Nakajima with two outs in the seventh at Tokyo Dome.
He gave up three hits and one walk with nine strikeouts. Orix has won three straight for the first time this season.
Fighters 5, Hawks 4
At Yahoo Dome, Hichori Morimoto went 3-for-5 with two RBIs as Hokkaido Nippon Ham held off Fukuoka Softbank. Morimoto had an infield single and went on to score on a single by Tomoyuki Oda in the first inning. The leadoff man drove in two runs with a single to center in a three-run second that put the Fighters ahead 4-0.
Marines 8, Eagles 3
At Fullcast Stadium, Naoyuki Shimizu held his opponent to three runs in six innings to earn his first win of the season.
CENTRAL LEAGUE
Tigers 1, BayStars 0
At Koshien Stadium, Yasuhiro Nakamura threw six scoreless innings to lead Hanshin's shutout of Yokohama. Nakamura (1-0) struck out nine and allowed just four hits before the game was closed out by Tomoyuki Kubota, Jeff Williams and Kyuji Fujikawa.
Giants 5, Dragons 1
At Nagoya Dome, Yoshinobu Takahashi and Tomohiro Nioka homered to back a sharp outing by Hisanori Takahashi as Yomiuri retook the Central League lead.
Carp 5, Swallows 2
At Hiroshima Stadium, Hiroki Kuroda earned his first complete-game win of the season as the Carp beat Tokyo Yakult.