Taishi Nakagawa belted a first-inning grand slam and Wataru Karashima tossed seven shutout innings as the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles snapped their three-game losing streak with a 5-1 win on Sunday over the Pacific League-leading Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.

SoftBank's Hiroki Yamada (1-1), pitching in just his fourth game of the season, struck out two after allowing a leadoff single, but a hit batsman and a walk loaded the bases. Nakagawa connected on a fat 2-0 fastball over the center-field wall for his first grand slam in eight years since turning pro.

"I didn't bat well yesterday but the manager used me from the start, so I wanted to repay his trust," Nakagawa said after the game at Kobo Miyagi Stadium. "It boosts my confidence. I'd like to keep batting the way I can over the remaining games."