Right-hander Bryan Bullington allowed three leadoff singles but no runs over seven innings on Thursday to earn the Hiroshima Carp's first win of the season, a 1-0 decision over the Tokyo Yakult Swallows at Mazda Stadium.
Bullington, the losing pitcher in the Carp's season-opener, gave up four singles and walked a batter, while striking out six. Right-handers Takeru Imamura and Kam Mickolio each worked an inning to preserve the shutout.
"It's good to get it out of the way," said Bullington, the first pick of Major League Baseball's 2002 amateur draft. "(I was) just trying to execute pitches. I had a couple of jams early in the game I was able to get out of. I got into a little bit of a rhythm my last three or four innings. I was just trying to keep putting zeroes up there, and our guys were able to get a run across."