Right-hander Koki Kitayama took a perfect-game bid into the seventh inning while striking out 10 in the Nippon Ham Fighters' 4-2 Pacific League win over the Rakuten Eagles on Wednesday.
The 24-year-old Kitayama retired the first 19 batters he faced at Es Con Field Hokkaido outside Sapporo before issuing a walk and two singles that pushed a run across the board.
Kitayama admitted to thinking about the no-hit bid.
"I was absolutely gassed out there, so I was thinking it would be a good thing to give up a hit," he said. "However, I want to train more so I can actually achieve that going forward."
Chusei Mannami singled in a first-inning run, and belted his first homer, a three-run shot in the fifth off veteran starting pitcher Takayuki Kishi.
Among Wednesday's other games, lefty Natsuki Takeuchi, who was named by three teams as their top pick in last autumn's draft, struck out seven over seven innings to win his pro debut in the Seibu Lions' 3-0 victory over the Orix Buffaloes.
Last year's PL rookie of the year, Shumpeita Yamashita, took the loss for the three-time defending champion Buffaloes.
