Manabu Mima carried a perfect game into the ninth inning as the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles beat the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 5-1 on Friday, handing the Pacific League leaders their fifth consecutive loss.
Mima (6-3) allowed two hits and a walk, while striking out six in a 117-pitch effort. It was his first win since June 9 and the Eagles' first complete-game victory of the season.
With good command of his fastball, slider and changeup, the 32-year-old right-hander used a varied attack that left the Hawks hitters guessing wrong most of the time. Until the Hawks broke through in the ninth, the few times they did hit a ball hard, it went straight to an Eagles fielder.