Baseball: Hayakawa tosses 1-run 7 innings as Rakuten outscore Orix

Takahisa Hayakawa pitched one-run ball over seven innings, striking out five, in his season debut as the Rakuten Eagles outscored the Orix Buffaloes 11-4 in the Pacific League on Saturday.

Fumiya Kurokawa’s infield grounder drove in the opening run off Orix starter Allen Kuri (1-1) in the bottom of the first inning at Rakuten Mobile Park Miyagi.

The Sendai-based club widened its lead to 9-1 on Yuma Yasuda’s three-run homer and Hikaru Ota’s solo shot in the fifth inning.

Left-handed Hayakawa (1-0) allowed three hits and two walks before leaving the mound.

“I was relieved to get my first win at home in two years,” said Hayakawa, who underwent surgery on his left shoulder last year. “Although I had some concerns, I wanted to show my appreciation to everyone who supported me through my play.”

Yusuke Mugitani’s two-run homer and Yuma Mune’s solo shot in the eighth briefly cut Orix’s deficit, before Rakuten added insurance runs in the same inning.

==Kyodo