Rookie Kazuki Yabuta made the most of his emergency start, pitching six scoreless innings for the Hiroshima Carp in a 3-0 win over the Yokohama BayStars on Wednesday.
The Carp, who are chasing their first Central League pennant since 1991, moved 12 games clear of the second-place Yomiuri Giants and now have a magic number of 10 to clinch the pennant.
Before 31,832 at Mazda Stadium, Yabuta (2-1) was asked to take the hill when scheduled starter Yuya Fukui complained of neck pain just before the start of the game. The rookie walked four and allowed two hits, while striking out five.