Yuki Karakawa pitched one-run ball over seven innings to set the pace as the Chiba Lotte Marines snapped a six-game losing skid in a 7-1 rout of the Tohoku Rakuten Eagles in the Pacific League on Wednesday.
Karakawa (1-1) scattered nine hits, striking out six and walking one and two relievers held Rakuten hitless the rest of the way at Chiba Marine Stadium.
Lotte took a 3-1 lead through the third and Tadahito Iguchi, who tripled in the second, added a two-run double in the fifth against Hideki Asai (0-2).