Orix Buffaloes ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles starter Takahiro Norimoto went toe-to-toe Wednesday in a Pacific League pitching duel that ended with five total hits and no runs.
The scoreless tie came a day after the two sides opened their series with a 5-5 stalemate at Kyocera Dome Osaka, where play is taking place behind closed doors during the coronavirus state of emergency through May 11.
Yamamoto (3-2) went the distance for his second shutout of the season, striking out five, while giving up three hits and a walk in his 96-pitch outing.