Hiroya Miyagi and four relievers combined on a four-hit shutout as the second-place Orix Buffaloes beat the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 2-0 on Sunday to cut the Hawks' Pacific League lead to one game.
Miyagi (11-7) held the Hawks to an infield single while striking out five, walking one and hitting a batter in five innings at Kyocera Dome Osaka. Orix has won the first two games of the three-game series, with two weeks remaining in the regular season.
The left-hander escaped the only trouble he had in the afternoon by getting Taisei Makihara to ground out with the bases loaded in the fourth.