Left-hander Kotaro Otake continued his impressive start to the season with six innings of one-run ball Saturday as the Hanshin Tigers beat the Yokohama DeNA BayStars 7-2 and tied with them for first place in the Central League.
Otake (5-0) has won all five of his starts in 2023 after the former Fukuoka SoftBank Hawk was picked by the Tigers in last December's draft for active players.
He allowed four hits while striking out four and walking one at Koshien Stadium.
"Against the league leaders, I took the mound determined to win this game," Otake said. "My teammates have given me early support and come up with good defensive plays, so I've been able to pitch feeling less pressure."
Sheldon Neuse went 2-for-4 with three RBIs, and Koji Chikamoto drove in two runs for the Tigers, whose manager Akinobu Okada picked up his 600th career win as a skipper.
"We played great today. We were able to get guys on and get them in," Neuse said. "Tiger fans' support is second to none. We just took the series here. We've been fighting all year. Hopefully, we can just keep this momentum going."
DeNA right-hander Robert Gsellman (3-1) gave up five runs, four earned, in 3⅔ innings.
In other CL action, Munetaka Murakami hit a pair of two-run homers in the Tokyo Yakult Swallows' 4-1 victory over the Chunichi Dragons. Lewis Brinson capped the Yomiuri Giants' 5-4, 12-inning win over the Hiroshima Carp with a walk-off hit off the center-field wall.
In the Pacific League, Takayuki Kato pitched a complete-game shutout as the Nippon Ham Fighters beat the Lotte Marines 5-0.
The Seibu Lions defeated the Tohoku Rakuten Rakuten Eagles 7-4, while Orix ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto threw six effective innings for his third win as the Buffaloes downed the Hawks 8-3.