Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles right-hander Masahiro Tanaka won his 22nd consecutive decision Friday, extending his own Japanese pro baseball record dating back to Aug. 26, 2012.
Tanaka, 24, improved to 18-0 on the season after pitching seven shutout innings to open Pacific League leader Rakuten's series against the second-place Chiba Lotte Marines at Kleenex Stadium.
The Eagles snapped a season-worst five-game losing skid in the 5-0 win.