Hard-throwing rookie Yasunobu Okugawa overcame a four-run first inning and a long rain delay to earn his first pro victory as the Yakult Swallows came from behind to beat the Hiroshima Carp 11-7 in the Central League on Thursday.
The 19-year-old Okugawa (1-1), one of the stars of Japan's 2019 pro draft, allowed five-straight hits in the top of the first at Tokyo's Jingu Stadium to put his team in a four-run hole, but one his teammates quickly erased.
Naomichi Nishiura singled in the tying run in the home half before the game was held up for nearly an hour for rain. The Carp restored their lead on a third-inning leadoff homer by Seiya Suzuki.