Takahiro Norimoto renewed his own record by striking out 10 or more batters in eight games in a row as the Rakuten Eagles beat the DeNA BayStars 8-2 in interleague play Thursday.
Norimoto (8-1) went the distance, giving up two runs on seven hits and a walk while fanning 12 of the 35 batters he faced in his 117-pitch outing at Kobo Park Miyagi, claiming his 10th strikeout from DeNA cleanup hitter Yoshitomo Tsutsugo in the eighth inning.
"The stands started getting a bit noisy around the sixth inning and the atmosphere became strange, but I think the record was set because (catcher Motohiro) Shima-san led me well and I was able to throw where he wanted me to," Norimoto said.
"I really wanted to get the 10th strikeout from Tsutsugo (because) he's a wonderful batter who is the cleanup of the Japanese national team and he had three hits so I wanted to get back at him," the 26-year-old said.
A week ago, Norimoto, who led the Pacific League in strikeouts over the last three seasons, surpassed Hall of Famer Hideo Nomo by getting double-digit strikeouts in seven consecutive games.
In terms of offence for the PL-leading Rakuten, Eigoro Mogi opened with a solo homer in the first and added a two-run home run in the fourth while Carlos Peguero went deep in the third inning as the Eagles stopped their losing skid at three.
DeNA managed just two runs -- Tsutsugo's RBI single in the sixth and Takayuki Kajitani's solo shot two innings later -- as it saw its winning streak stopped at three.
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Carp 5, Fighters 3
At Sapporo Dome, Seiya Suzuki struck a two-run home run in the first and Yoshihiro Maru hit two-run double in the fifth to pace Hiroshima to its fifth straight win by defeating Nippon Ham, which fell to its fifth consecutive loss.
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Tigers 3, Buffaloes 2
At Kyocera Dome Osaka, Masahiro Nakatani hit an RBI single in the fifth to break a 1-1 tie and Kosuke Fukudome drove in a run an inning later as Hanshin edged Orix and handed the team its second loss in nine interleague games.
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Marines 9, Dragons 5
At Zozo Marine Stadium, Daichi Suzuki, Matt Duffy and Ryo Miki all hit bases-loaded RBI singles in the fifth to lift Lotte over Chunichi and snap its four-game losing skid.
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Hawks 15, Swallows 0
At Yafuoku Dome, SoftBank pounded out a season-high 20 hits, including five home runs, as it blanked Yakult, which suffered its eighth defeat in a row for the first time in two years.
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Lions 13, Giants 2
At MetLife Dome, Takumi Kuriyama opened with an RBI hit in the first and Shuta Tonosaki hit a grand slam to cap a six-run third as Seibu won its sixth straight game while Yomiuri extended the franchise-worst losing record to 13 games in a row.
==Kyodo
