Shohei Otani (2-0) pitched out of a series of scrapes on Sunday to work into the seventh inning and earn the victory in the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters' 4-2 win over the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.
Otani, a .385 hitter in 39 at-bats as a position player this season, allowed two unearned runs on eight hits and a walk before exiting after 6⅓ innings. He improved to 5-0 in his brief career.
The 19-year-old right-hander struck out five. With a one-run lead in the third, Otani surrendered a leadoff double, but got out of that jam and struck out Andruw Jones with the bases loaded in the sixth to preserve his 1-0 lead.