Yoshinobu Yamamoto outpitched former New York Yankees ace Masahiro Tanaka with seven shutout innings as the Orix Buffaloes routed the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 9-1 in the Pacific League on Saturday.
Masataka Yoshida went 3-for-5 with his 21st home run of the season and six RBIs. Yuma Tongu hit a two-run homer to break open the game in the seventh inning at Rakuten Seimei Park Miyagi.
Yamamoto (15-5), who has led Japanese baseball in wins, ERA and strikeouts this year, held the Eagles to two singles while striking out seven and walking three on a drizzly afternoon.
"I went to the mound thinking only about winning," Yamamoto said. "I didn't let the rain affect me. Run support made things easier for me on the mound. I was able to pitch well."
Tanaka (9-11) gave up four runs and nine hits over five innings.
At PayPay Dome in Fukuoka, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks blanked the Chiba Lotte Marines 6-0 to keep their razor-thin PL lead over the Buffaloes. The Saitama Seibu Lions defeated the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters 6-2 at Sapporo Dome.
In the Central League, Jose Osuna and Takeshi Miyamoto drove in five runs between them as the first-place Tokyo Yakult Swallows beat the second-place Yokohama DeNA BayStars 8-1 to cut the magic number to two to claim their second consecutive league title.
Yakult's Munetaka Murakami went without a home run for the eighth straight game in front of fans who gathered at a rainy Jingu Stadium to see his 56th homer, which will put him alone in second on Japan's all-time single-season home run list.
The Chunichi Dragons edged the Yomiuri Giants 2-1.
