Masanori Ishikawa went five innings in a rain-shortened interleague game, giving him a win in each of his 23 pro seasons as the Yakult Swallows beat the Pacific League's Rakuten Eagles 4-0 on Sunday.
When the game at Rakuten Mobile Park Miyagi was called after five innings with the 44-year-old lefty still in the game, Ishikawa (1-1) was credited with his first shutout in nine years.
The Swallows opened the scoring against veteran right-hander Takayuki Kishi (2-5) on Hideki Nagaoka's RBI double, and Munetaka Murakami followed with his 13th home run to make it 3-0 in the first.
Ishikawa allowed four hits and no walks while striking out one. His ERA dropped to 2.00, while his career record is now balanced at 186-186.
He tied the record for consecutive seasons with a win shared by Hall of Famers Kimiyasu Kudo and Masahiro Yamamoto, as well as current DeNA BayStars manager Daisuke Miura, but Ishikawa is the first to get at least one win in 23 straight seasons since turning pro.
In other action on Sunday, the Hanshin Tigers' Hiroto Saiki (6-1) threw a six-hit shutout as the Central League club beat the Lotte Marines 1-0. Lotte had won 11 straight decisions.
The PL-leading SoftBank Hawks walked off 5-3 winners against the Hiroshima Carp with Kensuke Kondo's second homer of the game, a two-run 10th-inning shot, sealing a three-game sweep.
