Tomohiro Anraku earned his first win of the year as the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles moved 1½ games ahead of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks at the top of the Pacific League standings on Friday, winning 4-3.

Zelous Wheeler hit a three-run homer in the first inning off Hawks lefty Nao Higashihama (7-3) to give his team the lead for good.

Anraku (1-2) allowed three runs on eight hits and two walks over five innings but never surrendered the lead.