Tomoyuki Sugano loses his bid for the first shutout of Japan's new imperial era but still manages to go the distance as the Yomiuri Giants beat the Chunichi Dragons 5-1 on May 1, 2019. (Kyodo)

Baseball: Giants ace Sugano goes distance in era opener

TOKYO - Tomoyuki Sugano lost his bid for the first shutout of Japan's new imperial era but still managed to go the distance as the Yomiuri Giants beat the Chunichi Dragons 5-1 in the Central League on Wednesday afternoon.
On the first day of action in Japan's Reiwa Era, Sugano (4-2) struck out 10 batters, reaching 1,002 for his career, and walked one. He allowed four of his seven hits in the ninth inning, when the Dragons scored their only run.

"I wanted a shutout although it's a win just the same. I'll do my best next time," Sugano told a Tokyo Dome sell-out crowd of 46,345. "I was told (my strikeout total before the game), and I was thinking about it every inning trying to get it over as soon as possible."

The Giants opened the scoring in the first after Daisuke Yamai (2-2) loaded the bases on two singles and a hit batsman -- Mexico's Christian Villaneuva becoming the era's first player to be hit by a pitch.

Singles by Yoshiyuki Kamei and Yang Dai-kang made it 2-0. Another run scored on a groundout, and Kamei scored on a delayed double steal.

The Giants made it 5-0 in the second when Giants captain Hayato Sakamoto hit the first homer of the era.

In Yokohama, the DeNA BayStars blew open a rookie pitcher's duel in a four-run sixth, as Shinichi Onuki (2-1) allowed a run over 6-1/3 innings in a 5-1 win over lefty Keiji Takahashi (0-1) and the Yakult Swallows.

At Koshien Stadium, rookie Koji Chikamoto's two-run, fifth-inning single brought the Hanshin Tigers from behind in a 6-2 win over the Hiroshima Carp.

In the Pacific League, Hideaki Wakui (2-1) threw seven scoreless innings and Daichi Suzuki drove in three runs as the Lotte Marines beat the Orix Buffaloes 4-0 at Kyocera Dome.

Nippon Ham Fighters right-hander Mizuki Hori pitched 2-1/3 innings to lead a six-pitcher procession that shut down the powerful Seibu Lions in a 7-2 win at MetLife Dome.

At Yafuoku Dome, the SoftBank Hawks' Shota Takeda (2-2) became the era's first player ejected for hitting a batter in the head with a pitch. Zelous Wheeler, who he hit, scored three runs and drove in two in the Rakuten Eagles' 9-0 win.

Source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20190502/p2g/00m/0sp/012000c