When you're in desperate need of a win, a pretty good strategy is to give the ball to the guy who never loses and get out the way.
Masahiro Tanaka went the distance and struck out 12 in his Japan Series debut, getting a little help from a crucial blown call, to lead the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles to a 2-1 win over the Yomiuri Giants in Game 2 of the Japanese Fall Classic on Sunday night at Kleenex Stadium.
"Yesterday (Takahiro) Norimoto pitched so well but could not win, so I was determined to pitch my game and make sure we evened the Series," Tanaka said. "I wanted to be very careful and tried not to give up any runs."