HIROSHIMA – Kris Johnson allowed only one hit in a complete game shutout Wednesday as he led the Hiroshima Carp to a 2-0 win over the Chunichi Dragons in the Central League.
Ryoma Nishikawa gave Hiroshima an early advantage with a leadoff homer against rookie right-hander Takumi Yamamoto in the bottom of the first at Mazda Stadium.
With the win, the defending CL champions extended their current win streak to five, while sending the Dragons to a fifth straight loss.
Johnson (7-6) fanned eight while issuing just one walk in his first shutout in three seasons.
The former Minnesota Twins and Pittsburgh Pirates left-hander gave up his sole hit with one out in the third when Ryosuke Hirata singled to right.
In the bottom of the first, Nishikawa sent Yamamoto’s 3-2 fastball deep to right for his seventh homer of the year, eclipsing his previous single-season best of six from 2018.
Next man up Ryosuke Kikuchi doubled to left before advancing to third on a Xavier Batista grounder. With Seiya Suzuki at the plate, Kikuchi scored Hiroshima’s second run when he came home on a wild pitch from Yamamoto.
The 19-year-old Yamamoto (0-1) threw five innings, issuing five hits and three walks while striking out a pair.
Nishikawa’s bomb was the second first-inning leadoff homer of his career. The first came on Sunday in Hiroshima’s 2-1 win over the first-place Yomiuri Giants.
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Source : Baseball – The Japan Times