Toshiya Sugiuchi won a pitching duel with Yu Darvish on Saturday night, tossing a complete-game shutout in the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks' 1-0 victory over the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters.
The front-running Hawks reduced their magic number to one for clinching the Pacific League title while keeping a half-game lead over the Seibu Lions.
Sugiuchi (16-7) scattered five hits, walked one and struck out nine in a 117-pitch outing at Sapporo Dome. The left-hander escaped a one-out, two-on jam in the ninth by getting Yoshio Itoi to ground into a game-ending double play.
Munenori Kawasaki broke a scoreless tie with a two-out RBI single in the seventh.