Nick Martinez threw seven scoreless innings in the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks' 5-0 win over the Chiba Lotte Marines on Thursday afternoon for their second straight win over the Pacific League leaders.
The Hawks, who have won the last four Japan Series, are fourth, seven games back of the first-place Marines and two games back of the third-place Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, who occupy the PL's final playoff spot.
"It's the point of the season where you have to win big games against good teams if you're going to make the playoffs," Martinez said.