Right-hander Takahiro Norimoto kept the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles' slim Pacific League playoff hopes going on Friday with a 1-0 shutout victory over the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters.

A day after manager Senichi Hoshino announced he would leave the team due to poor results, Norimoto (13-9) allowed three hits in his Japan-best seventh shutout of the season.

The win was the fourth-place Eagles' fourth straight and moved them to within 7-1/2 games of the third-place Fighters, who currently occupy the PL's final playoff spot. The Eagles have 15 games left to play.