New York Mets right-hander Kodai Senga on Saturday became the eighth Japanese pitcher to win at least 10 games in their rookie MLB season.
Senga (10-6) threw seven innings of one-run ball, allowing just two hits, including a fourth-inning home run by Nolan Arenado, as the Mets extended their winning streak to four games with a 13-2 rout of the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
The former Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks ace struck out five and walked two en route to winning his third straight start.
"It was one of my goals, so I'm happy," Senga said of his 10th win. "Overall, the speed of my pitches was slower than usual. I turned to cutters and sliders. (Catcher Francisco) Alvarez called a good game."
The previous seven Japanese pitchers who reached double digits in wins in their rookie season include Hideo Nomo (13-6 for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1995), Yu Darvish (16-9 for the Texas Rangers in 2012) and Kenta Maeda (16-11 for the Dodgers in 2016).
Daniel Vogelbach hit a grand slam in the fifth, while DJ Stewart and Pete Alonso also homered for the Mets.
In other action, Los Angeles Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani had just one hit in a total of six at-bats in a doubleheader against the Tampa Bay Rays at Angel Stadium.
The Angels won the first game 7-6 and lost the second 18-4.
Darvish (8-9) gave up four runs in five-plus innings in the San Diego Padres' 8-1 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the second game of their doubleheader at Petco Park.