FUKUOKA – The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks made the most of having former ace Tsuyoshi Wada on the mound for the first time since 2017 in a 5-2 interleague win over the Chunichi Dragons on Wednesday.
Wada, who has not pitched since the 2017 Japan Series due to shoulder issues, allowed two runs over five innings and did not figure in the decision after leaving with the game tied 2-2.
Rookie Arata Shiino (1-1) worked a scoreless sixth inning and earned the win after Alfredo Despaigne put SoftBank in front for good with a solo homer in the bottom of the inning off Dragons starter Yudai Ono (3-4).
“I’d been watching him from the bullpen and saw how well he pitched,” Shiino said. “Taking over from Wada gave me strength.”
Shota Takeda and Livan Moinelo added two more perfect innings, with Moinelo striking out the heart of the Dragons order in the eighth.
After Despaigne and Moinelo had their say, Yurisbel Gracial made it a hat-trick for the Hawks’ Cuban contingent with his 11th homer, a two-run blast in the bottom of the eighth.
Closer Yuito Mori worked around two hits to record his 15th save.
Source : Baseball – The Japan Times