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| Masahiro Tanaka of the Rakuten Eagles pitches against the Nippon Ham Fighters at Tokyo Dome on April 17, 2021, in his first start of the season after a seven-year stint with the New York Yankees. (Photo by=Kyodo) |
[Asia News Communication = Reporter Reakkana] Sho Nakata spoiled Masahiro Tanaka's first game back in Japan on Saturday as the Nippon Ham Fighters beat Tanaka's Rakuten Eagles 4-1 in the Pacific League, Kyodo reported.
Taking full advantage of home run-friendly Tokyo Dome, Nakata blasted a poorly located fastball from the former New York Yankee for a two-run first-inning home run. Kazunari Ishii homered off Tanaka in the second. Tanaka's loss ended his streak of 28 straight Japanese regular-season victories dating back to August 2012. The last-place Fighters, who entered with just four wins and two home runs in their first 17 games, looked like they might be an easy first step for Tanaka, whose season debut was delayed by a right calf-muscle injury suffered just before Opening Day. But that first step proved to be a doozy.
Tanaka issued a two-out walk before missing a fastball in the heart of the zone that Nakata, the Fighters cleanup hitter, lofted over the left-field wall for his first home run of the season. Tanaka (0-1) allowed three runs over five innings and was simply outpitched by Fighters right-hander Naoyuki Uwasawa (1-2), the Fighters' Opening Day starter.
