Toshiya Sugiuchi tossed a three-hitter Monday as the Softbank Hawks blanked the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 4-0 at Fullcast Stadium.
Sugiuchi, the 2003 Japan Series MVP, struck out 12 Rakuten batters while issuing just one walk to pick up his second win of the season.
"I had good control of my offspeed pitches and that was a huge help," said Sugiuchi. "(Kenji) Jojima called a great game behind the plate and hopefully I can keep pitching like this."