While the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles have faded out of contention during the second half of the season, Hisashi Iwakuma has continued to establish himself as the top pitcher in Japanese baseball.
After being plagued by injuries the past few years, Iwakuma (18-3) is in vintage form and on the doorstep of his first career 20-win season.
"Just two more to go," Eagles manager Katsuya Nomura told media on Tuesday. "I hope he does his best to reach 20. Twenty wins is a great honor for a pitcher. It's different from the old days because you pitch fewer games in a season. If you win 15 games, you can be an ace.