Hideki Irabu made a successful return to Japanese baseball Saturday, picking up a win in his first game after spending six years in the major leagues.
Irabu, who had 16 saves for the Texas Rangers last season, gave up three runs and nine hits over six innings to lead the Hanshin Tigers of the Central League to their first win of the year, a 7-3 victory over the Yokohama BayStars.
He got off to a shaky start after giving up a pair of runs in the first inning, but settled down and finished with six strikeouts.