A day after the Pacific League powerhouse Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks sank below .500, two of this year's underachievers stepped up, as Shota Takeda and Seiichi Uchikawa led the way to a 4-0 win over the last-place Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles on Sunday.
Takeda (3-7) continued his all-or-nothing season, earning his third shutout, while Uchikawa, batting .254, 53 points south of his .307 career average, had two hits and drove in three of the Hawks' runs.
Takeda, whose other two wins came in back-to-back May shutouts, shook off a game-opening hit to go the distance. He walked one batter, while striking out five. All three of his wins have come at the Hawks' home park, Yafuoku Dome.