Yoshihisa Naruse threw his fifth straight quality start and won for the first time in over a month as the Tokyo Yakult Swallows defeated the Central League-leading Hanshin Tigers 6-4 on Wednesday night.
Naruse (3-7) allowed three runs on five hits and a walk over six innings to pick up his first win since May 28. The lefty allowed a pair of home runs, including a game-tying two-run shot by Ryutaro Umeno on an 0-2 pitch in the fourth inning, while striking out three.
"The main thing for me is to execute my pitches," said Naruse, who joined Yakult over the winter as a free agent. "That second home run could have been avoided, and so I'm really glad we could come back to win."