Shintaro Fujinami helped himself with the bat and then turned his game around on the mound, going seven innings as the Hanshin Tigers beat the Tokyo Yakult Swallows 7-3 in a game between the Central League's top two teams.
Fujinami (10-5) allowed two runs over the first three innings, in which he walked five and surrendered three hits — mostly on his normally effective fastball. But just after Hanshin tied the score 2-2 in the top of the third, the pitcher's two-run double put the visitors in front for good.
"I was really frustrated at the start, so it was a matter of adjust, adjust, adjust," said the 21-year-old Fujinami, who took over the CL lead in wins. "The hit was just a matter of the ball hitting my bat and going in a lucky direction."