Veteran lefty Masahiro Yamamoto gave a vintage performance belying his years on Saturday and Masahiko Morino homered as the Chunichi Dragons blanked the Yomiuri Giants 3-0.
Yamamoto (4-0) at age 45 became the oldest pitcher in Japanese baseball to pitch a shutout, yielding just six hits and escaping jams along the way with an effective slider at Nagoya Dome.
"I am more relieved about winning this important game than getting the shutout," Yamamoto said. "Since we're nearing the end of the season, I thought this might be my last chance for a shutout and I was able to enjoy myself pitching. I never imagined that I could still throw a shutout."