Chihiro Kaneko allowed a run over eight innings to earn the win as the Orix Buffaloes defeated the Pacific League-leading Fukuoka Softbank Hawks 8-1 on Friday in the first game of their three-game showdown series.
Pitching before 31,128 at Kyocera Dome, Kaneko struck out nine, while giving up six hits without a walk to improve his record to 10-4. The right-hander hardly looked troubled, although two-time batting champion Seiichi Uchikawa went 3-for-4 against him and doubled in the Hawks' only run in the sixth.
"You're going to give up hits, so you just focus on the next guy and try to get him out," said Kaneko, who said it didn't matter to him that it was a big game against the league leaders.