Masaru Takeda and two relievers combined on a seven-hit shutout as the Pacific League-leading Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters beat the Softbank Hawks 3-0 on Tuesday night.
Tuffy Rhodes of the Buffaloes goes after Lotte catcher Tomoya Satozaki as the home plate umpire tries to
intervene in the third inning on Tuesday night.
KYODO PHOTOTakeda (5-1) allowed six hits, walked one and struck out five in 7 1/3 innings at Sapporo Dome before Hisashi Takeda got two outs and Micheal Nakamura closed out the ninth for his 19th save.
Nippon Ham took a 2-0 lead in the fourth when Nagisa Arakaki (6-7) got Eiichi Koyano swinging on a 2-2 slider in the dirt for the potential third out, but catcher Katsuki Yamazaki let the ball roll away into foul territory, allowing runners to score not only from third base but from second.