Sendai – Masahiro Tanaka pitched the coronavirus-hit Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles to a 7-3 Pacific League win against the Saitama Seibu Lions on Tuesday, allowing two runs over seven innings as his team returned to action.
Rakuten had canceled its home games against the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks over the weekend after reporting infections of eight players and a pitching coach in the past week. In its first game in four days, the team was quick in giving the former New York Yankee the lead.
Haruki Nishikawa led off with a single in the first inning, Seibu lefty Shunsuke Sato (1-1) loaded the bases with a hit batsman and a walk before Daichi Suzuki doubled to right to drive in two opening runs at Rakuten Seimei Park Miyagi.
Tanaka (2-0) survived a no-out, two-on scare in the top of the third, while Sato gave up three more runs in the home half. With two on and one out, Suzuki singled in another run and Jose Marmolejos followed suit before a Seibu wild throw presented Rakuten’s fifth run.
Sato was chased after the inning, allowing five runs, all earned, on six hits, two walks and a hit batsman. Tanaka gave up a two-run shot to Shohei Suzuki in the fifth, but no more.
“It’s really been a long time,” Tanaka said after winning at home for the first time since May 1. “I have the motivation to lead from the front. It’s important to keep my head up, talk to players and get us to play in a good atmosphere, especially at a tough time like this.”
The right-hander was not at his dominant best but scattered eight hits and a walk in his 99-pitch effort, leaving the mound before Hideto Asamura’s double and a pinch-hit Ginji Akaminai sacrifice fly scored two more Eagles runs in the seventh.
Wu Nien-ting had a pinch-hit solo shot in the ninth but the Lions lost their fifth straight game.
SoftBank won the eight opening games after beating the Orix Buffaloes 6-3 using seven relievers, while Enny Romero (1-0) threw six shutout innings as the Lotte Marines won their fourth straight, beating the Nippon Ham Fighters 2-0.
The Hanshin Tigers finally snapped their Central League’s worst record of nine straight defeats to start a season, winning 4-0 against the DeNA BayStars with Yuki Nishi (1-0) throwing a seven-hit shutout.
Takaya Ishikawa hit a decisive eighth-inning solo shot, his first as a pro, as the Chunichi Dragons edged the Yakult Swallows 7-6 for their fourth straight win, and the Hiroshima Carp beat the Yomiuri Giants 3-1.
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Source : Baseball – The Japan Times