Kuo Chun-lin won a duel of young pitchers marking their league debuts on Sunday as the Seibu Lions beat the Orix Buffaloes 5-4 to complete a three-game sweep of their season-opening series.

Pitching before 26,507 at Seibu Prince Dome, Kuo allowed three runs in five innings. The 23-year-old right-hander from Taiwan allowed six hits — but just one after the second inning. He struck out four, walked four and hit a batter.

"After they scored three runs, I thought I'd better throw for all I'm worth or this is going to be a disaster," said Kuo, who started against South Korea last autumn in the Asian Games' gold-medal match.