Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Yusei Kikuchi earned his seventh win of the season after throwing seven innings of one-run ball in a 12-1 rout of the Oakland Athletics on Sunday.
Kikuchi (7-2) held the Athletics to two hits, including a sixth-inning home run by Tony Kemp, while striking out eight and walking two in a 101-pitch outing at Rogers Centre in Toronto.
The 32-year-old left-hander used his curveball effectively en route to equaling his MLB career high in wins, set in 2021 with the Seattle Mariners.
"My curveball is working well against right-handed hitters," Kikuchi said. "The hard-hit ratio is falling, so I want to improve that pitch further."
Kikuchi set his career high of 16 wins in Japan in 2017 with the Seibu Lions.
The Blue Jays built a 4-0 lead through the first three innings, and Kikuchi retired the first 10 batters before giving up a double to Carlos Perez in the fourth inning.
"I haven't been able to pitch through the seventh inning ever since I joined the Blue Jays, so that was great," Kikuchi said.
George Springer and Cavan Biggio each homered and drove in five runs between them. Luis Medina (1-7) took the loss.
Among other Japanese players, Shohei Ohtani went 2-for-4 with an RBI in the Los Angeles Angels' 4-3 loss to the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field in Denver.
The two-way star recorded his major league-leading 61st RBI with a sixth-inning triple to left-center.
In Game 2 of the Chicago Cubs' two-game series in London against the St. Louis Cardinals, Seiya Suzuki went hitless in five at-bats. The Cardinals earned a series split with a 7-5 victory.