Takahiro Norimoto pitched a one-hitter in his first shutout of the season in the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles' 2-0 win over the Orix Buffaloes on Saturday.

Four-time PL strikeout king Norimoto (3-3) fanned nine in his seventh start of the season. He was tagged with losses in his last two starts, but worked six 1-2-3 innings for the win in front of a crowd of 21,524 at Kyocera Dome.

"I threw terribly in my last two games, so I wanted to get the team a win with my pitching this time," Norimoto said. "We can't take back what happened in the past, so I'll keep facing what's in front of me."