HIROSHIMA (Kyodo) Kan Otake threw a two-hitter for his third shutout of the season as the Hiroshima Carp beat the Yomiuri Giants 1-0 in the Central League on Saturday.
Otake (10-8) struck out six and walked none en route to posting double-digit wins for the first time in four years. He retired 14 straight batters at one stretch in a 94-pitch outing at Mazda Stadium.
Soichiro Amaya hit a sacrifice fly with one out in the first inning for Hiroshima's sole run.
Dicky Gonzalez (15-2) was almost as impressive, allowing one run and two hits while walking none in eight innings. He fell one win short of matching the CL high with Kazuki Yoshimi (Chunichi Dragons) and Shohei Tateyama (Yakult Swallows).
Carp outfielder Koichi Ogata came in as a defensive replacement in the eighth and tripled in the last plate appearance of his 23-year career, all with Hiroshima.
PACIFIC LEAGUE
Fighters 7, Eagles 1
At Sapporo Dome, Terrmel Sledge and Shinya Tsuruoka drove in two runs apiece and Masaru Takeda threw one-run ball over 7 2/3 innings as Hokkaido Nippon Ham downed Tohoku Rakuten.