Chunichi Dragons closer Hitoki Iwase matched the Japanese all-time record by posting his 286th save in a game against the Rakuten Eagles on Sunday.
Iwase's 286th career save placed him in a tie with former Yakult Swallows closer Shingo Takatsu.
The 36-year-old Iwase, who picked up his 10th save of the year, had a perfect ninth inning in a 5-2 win at Kleenex Stadium. He struggled early this season, but reached the milestone in his career 704th game.
"I have mixed feelings about this. Part of me feels relieved and another part feels like I can't become complacent," Iwase said about matching the record. "I have to keep building little by little. I was glad we won the game," he said.
Iwase, who was drafted in the second round from then-corporate team NTT Tokai in 1998, recorded his first save in his rookie season on June 23, 1999 against the Yomiuri Giants.
"Today I pitched as I usually do and just kept it in mind to retire the leadoff batter. The final out is the hardest to get, so I had to stay focused on my pitches till the end."
In his eighth year in the closer's role, Iwase notched a season-high 46 saves in 2005, and he is the first to appear in more than 50 games for 12 consecutive years. He has registered more than 30 saves for six years in a row.
Iwase was inducted into the "Meikyukai," or "Golden Players Club" after notching his career 250th save on June 16, 2010.
Kazuhiro Sasaki, the former Seattle Mariners closer and ex-pitcher for the Yokohama BayStars in Japan, has recorded the most saves for a Japanese pitcher with 381, 129 of which were achieved in the major leagues.
