Tsuyoshi Wada threw his first shutout since his return from the major leagues as the defending Pacific League champion Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks beat the Chiba Lotte Marines 5-0 on Wednesday to extend their winning run to eight.

Former Chicago Cubs southpaw Wada (2-1), who returned to his old club ahead of this season, allowed six hits and a walk while striking out five in a 114-pitch outing and outdueled his counterpart Kota Futaki (1-2), who had five perfect innings before giving up three runs in the sixth.

"I could only pitch until the sixth inning last time out so I'm happy I could hurl through the end," Wada said. "(Catcher Ayatsugu Yamashita) called good pitches, I didn't shake my head a lot and I'm grateful to him."