First-year Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters import Cody Ponce threw Japan's fifth no-hitter of the season on Saturday in a 2-0 Pacific League win over the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.
Ponce (3-4) hit one batter and walked another while striking out six in his 113-pitch gem that would not have happened without three big plays from his fielders.
Takuya Nakashima twice kept hits off the board. He leaped at short to snare a first-inning liner for the game's second out, and made a scrambling stop to his left behind second to rob the Hawks of an eighth-inning leadoff single.