Japanese pitcher Shintaro Fujinami earned the long-awaited first win of his major league career after getting two outs in relief in the Oakland Athletics' 9-7, 10-inning victory over the Texas Rangers on Friday.
In the top of the 10th, Fujinami (1-4) retired two of the three batters he faced after Adolis Garcia and Marcus Semien had back-to-back RBI singles off Zach Jackson to put the Rangers ahead 7-5. Brent Rooker hit a walk-off three-run homer in the bottom half at Oakland Coliseum.
It took Fujinami 11 games for the win. Fujinami, inheriting two runners with one out, struck out the first batter, walked the next and retired the third on a flyout to right.
In late April, the Athletics moved him to the bullpen after the 29-year-old right-hander lost his first four starts, with his ERA ballooning to 14.40.
Fujinami's ERA remains high at 12.17.
