Seibu Lions left-hander Yusei Kikuchi showed his potential to be one of the best pitchers in the future, throwing his first career complete game in a 6-1 victory over the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles on Thursday.
Kikuchi (3-0), who received offers from eight major league clubs in 2009, had his shutout bid ended when Takeshi Yamasaki hit his 400th career home run with one out in the ninth inning at Seibu Dome.
The designated hitter became the 17th player in Japan and the oldest ever to reach the 400 mark at age 42.