Daisuke Matsuzaka continued his road back to prime time on Saturday, when he allowed a run in five innings to record his first win at any level in Japan since 2006.
Pitching for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks' Western League club, Matsuzaka allowed two hits in a 17-3 win over the Yomiuri Giants' Eastern League club. Matsuzaka, who left Japan in 2007 to pitch for the Boston Red Sox, returned in 2015 with the Hawks but has been struggling with a variety of injuries and had surgery on his right shoulder just over a year ago.
"Throwing innings was what I most wanted to do. It's good that I was able to go five," said Matsuzaka, who threw 47 pitches and allowed a leadoff homer in the sixth inning.
Matsuzaka, who threw three scoreless innings against an independent league team on Wednesday, improved his record on the farm to 1-3. He went 56-43 during his time in the majors, and has a career record in Nippon Professional Baseball of 108-60.
"He's continuing to improve his form from last time," pitching coach Shinji Kurano said.
Matsuzaka's next appearance is likely to be in a week against Orix's WL team, with a target of 80 to 90 pitches.
Rick van den Hurk also threw three innings in the game against the Giants, allowing two runs in three innings, but expressed satisfaction with an effort that saw him register 151 kph on the radar gun.
