Hiroya Miyagi had a rare big strikeout day on Thursday, fanning 12 and allowing just four hits over the distance in the Orix Buffaloes' 5-0 Pacific League win over the Seibu Lions.
At Seibu's Belluna Dome, just outside Tokyo, the 171-centimeter lefty tossed his third shutout of the season for the two-time defending PL champs and runaway league leaders, who wrapped up their three-game sweep with back-to-back shutouts.
Miyagi (9-4) allowed the game's first hit, a one-out first-inning single, but retired the next 13 batters and led 4-0 before he surrendered his second.
Yuma Mune broke the ice for Orix in the third inning with an RBI single off Lions lefty Chihiro Sumida (7-8). With two on in the inning, Keita Nakagawa hit his 12th home run. Nakagawa doubled in a seventh-inning insurance run, and Miyagi cruised to the finish line.
"I'm feeling relief," Miyagi said afterward. "From the get-go, I had good arm-action, and when I gave up a hit, I was able to put it behind me, make the next pitch count and challenge hitters."
Elsewhere, the Lotte Marines came from behind to beat the SoftBank Hawks 5-4, while in the Central League, the DeNA BayStars downed the Hiroshima Carp 3-1 and the Yomiuri Giants beat the Yakult Swallows 5-3 to complete a sweep of their three-game series.
