Lefty Takayuki Kato scattered nine hits and a walk over the distance in the Nippon Ham Fighters' 5-0 win over the Lotte Marines in the Pacific League on Sunday.
It was the second straight complete game shutout for the Fighters, who finished last the past two seasons. The three-game sweep at Es Con Field Hokkaido moved them to within one game of the league-leading SoftBank Hawks.
The Fighters infield turned four double plays behind Kato (1-3), who struck out five, allowing him to keep the Marines off the board despite putting a runner on in every inning.
"My first three games were painful, so today was a relief," said Kato, who started the season 0-3, having allowed eight runs in 15-1/3 innings.
"I hadn't been carrying my weight, so I felt a lot of pressure coming in today."
Marines starter Atsuki Taneichi (1-2) faced the minimum through three innings, but a one-out fourth-inning single set the table, and back-to-back home runs from Chusei Mannami and Ariel Martinez kicked off a five-run inning.
Among other games on Sunday, the Hawks fell 3-1 to a complete game victory from Orix Buffaloes lefty Hiroya Miyagi (2-2). The Central League champion Hanshin Tigers beat the Chunichi Dragons 3-0 to complete a three-game sweep and move past them into first place.
