Former major leaguer Kazuhisa Ishii was atypically businesslike and purposeful on the mound on Wednesday and the Hanshin Tigers suffered for it.
Ishii (6-2) threw his second shutout of the season and Takeya Nakamura continued his home run rampage as the Seibu Lions beat the Hanshin Tigers 2-0 to win for the sixth time in seven games. Seibu moved three games clear of the Orix Buffaloes in the Pacific League basement.
"I'm not really a shutout kind of pitcher," said Ishii, who allowed just two hits and no walks, while striking out five. "It's not that I can't imagine doing it against certain teams. I just don't have this image of my throwing them."