Kazuo Matsui scored two runs and drove in four from the leadoff spot and reached a career milestone to boot on Sunday as he sparked the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles to an 8-4 win over the Orix Buffaloes.
Before 25,981 at Kyocera Dome in his hometown of Osaka, Matsui singled the first pitch of the game for the 2,500th hit of a career split between Japan and the major leagues. The 38-year-old came around to score the game's first run on a single by Andruw Jones.
Matsui had 1,433 hits with his first club, the Seibu Lions, 615 in the big leagues and 454 with the Eagles.