On a day when the Pacific League-leading Buffaloes needed a boost, rookie right-hander Kazumasa Yoshida provided it as Orix completed a three-game sweep of the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters with a 1-0 victory on Wednesday.

Having deactivated ace right-hander Chihiro Kaneko due to fatigue and veteran second baseman Keiichi Hirano due to tightness in his left calf earlier in the day, Yoshida, the club's top draft pick last autumn, got the job done.

Yoshida (3-1) allowed only a seventh-inning single while striking out 11 to come out on top against unlucky loser Naoyuki Uwasawa (6-5).