Hisashi Iwakuma walked none and pitched eight-plus sharp innings en route to his third straight win in as many starts this season as the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes maintained an early lead in a 6-2 victory over the Seibu Lions in the Pacific League on Saturday.
Fumitoshi Takano of the Buffaloes slides home safely
past Seibu catcher Toru Hosokawa during Saturday's
game at Seibu Dome.
Osaka Kintetsu beat the Lions 6-2.
The Opening Day pitcher looked ready to go the distance at Seibu Dome until he allowed a two-run homer to Hiroyuki Nakajima with two out in the seventh inning for his only mistake. Iwakuma (3-0) yielded eight hits and struck out seven in his 127-pitch outing.
Koji Mitsui (0-1) was knocked out in 3 1/3 innings after being rocked for five runs on five hits, three walks and throwing a wild pitch.