Rookie lefty Natsuki Takeuchi allowed four hits without a walk over eight innings as the Seibu Lions blanked the Pacific League-leading SoftBank Hawks 4-0 on Thursday.
Takeuchi (5-0) struck out six at Fukuoka's Mizuho PayPay Dome and Albert Abreu pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to close out the win for the league's last-place Lions.
The Lions starter, one of the most-sought after players in last year's draft, pounded the strike zone from the get-go and only got to three balls in counts three times.
"I was careful to avoid having lots of players on base," said Takeuchi, who didn't allow a runner to reach second until he surrendered a lucky eighth-inning double.
Shuta Tonosaki, named earlier in the day to the PL All-Star team in a vote by Japan's players, singled in two runs in the third off Hawks starter Tomohisa Ozeki (5-1). New Lion Seiya Matsubara scored one run and drove in another.
Among other games on Thursday, the Central League-leading Hiroshima Carp avoided a three-game series sweep with a 7-5 come-from-behind win over the Hanshin Tigers.
