Right-hander Michael Peoples threw six shutout innings and got the win in his first start of the season Monday as the Yokohama DeNA BayStars held off the Chunichi Dragons 2-1.
The 29-year-old American struck out five, walked none and limited the Dragons to four hits in the series opener between the Central League's bottom two teams at Vantelin Dome Nagoya.
"The defense played really well behind me," Peoples said. "Anytime they do that, it's all you can ask for. They had a lot of lefties, so we threw a lot of cutters, a lot of changeups away. (Catcher Hiroki) Minei did a really good job calling behind the plate and it was pretty easy once we got into a rhythm."