As if on cue, the Pacific League pennant winner Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles came through for right-hander Masahiro Tanaka — and big.
After being held scoreless in three consecutive games since clinching the PL title on Sept. 26, the Eagles erupted with a six-run third inning on Tuesday to give support to their ace in an 11-2 rout of the lowly Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters.
Tanaka limited the damage to two runs in six innings while scattering seven hits, extended his Japanese baseball record to 23-0 in decisions won since the start of the season. He won his 27th consecutive decision since Aug. 26, 2012 — also a Japan record.