Tomoyuki Sugano raised his left arm and used the sleeve of his uniform to wipe his forehead as he stood on the mound with a mixture of sweat and frustration streaming down his face.
A two-run deficit against the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks had just become four — courtesy of a two-run double by Ryoya Kurihara — during the sixth inning and the Yomiuri Giants ace could likely feel the game slipping away. He promptly retired Alfredo Despaigne to get out of the inning, but the damage had been done.
The best team in Japan got the best of one of the country's top pitchers, as the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks rolled to a 5-1 win over Sugano and the Kyojin in Game 1 of the Japan Series on Saturday at Kyocera Dome in Osaka.