Seth Greisinger pitched three-hit ball over eight innings, leading the Chiba Lotte Marines to a 3-1 win over the Chunichi Dragons as interleague play got under way on Wednesday.
Greisinger (4-1) struck out eight and walked one and Yasuhiko Yabuta finished things off at Nagoya Dome as Lotte won its fifth in a row and improved to 11-4 with two ties on the road.
Greisinger came within three outs of his first shutout since April 21, 2009, when he did so for the Yomiuri Giants against the Yakult Swallows. Yabuta allowed an RBI grounder to Tony Blanco in the ninth, but got Hirokazu Ibata to fly out to left to end it for his 12th save.