Rick van den Hurk hurled seven solid innings and Kenta Imamiya drove in the only run on Sunday as the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks eked out a 1-0 win against the Orix Buffaloes.
Van den Hurk (10-7) fanned six and retired 21 of his 24 batters without issuing a walk at Yafuoku Dome. The Dutch right-hander earned his 10th win for the seven-inning effort, reaching double digits for the second time since joining the Hawks in 2015.
"I just wanted to attack today and stay ahead in the count to keep them off balance, and we did a good job of that," van den Hurk said after the game. "It was a tight game and I'm so happy we got the victory. (Not giving up a walk) is huge, and of course after getting the win, that's definitely the second thing I'm most proud of today."