Masahiro Tanaka returned from a minor concussion to make his first start of the season on Saturday but did not factor in the decision as his New York Yankees' beat the Boston Red Sox 5-2.
Tanaka threw 51 pitches over 2-2/3 innings at Yankee Stadium before making a planned exit from the mound, allowing two runs, one earned, and yielding four hits and a walk while striking out three.
The Japanese right-hander took a liner to the head in practice ahead of the season's delayed start and sat out the opening of his seventh year in the majors on the injured list with a mild concussion.
"I was excited to come back to this place again," Tanaka said. "I didn't have any problems at all (because of the injury). I focused on the ball's momentum and throwing high or low rather than on the inside or outside."
Among other Japanese pitchers to play Saturday, Kenta Maeda (2-0) fanned six over six scoreless innings at Target Field and earned his second straight win as the Minnesota Twins blanked the Cleveland Indians 3-0.
"My pitches were good and I was able to control all of them equally well and get strikeouts," Maeda said. "It's important to be able to pitch well at home."
Maeda joined the Twins in February after four seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
At T-Mobile Park, Yusei Kikuchi struck out nine in six innings and got a no-decision in the Seattle Mariners' 3-2 loss to the Oakland Athletics.
Kikuchi yielded three hits and a walk without giving up a run in his second start of the year before the Athletics tied the game on Chad Pinder's two-run blast in the seventh.
