Masahiro Tanaka struck out 18 batters, the second most in a game in Japanese baseball history, as the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles topped the Fukuoka SoftbankHawks 5-0 on Saturday.
Rakuten extended its winning streak to a club record-tying seven games.
Tanaka (13-4) scattered six hits and walked one in his third shutout of the season, lowering his baseball-best ERA to 1.40.