DARVISH SPARKLES IN WIN OVER LIONS

After a streaky performance for Japan in the World Baseball Classic, Yu Darvish appears to be back on track pitching for the Pacific League’s Nippon Ham Fighters. Darvish held the Seibu Lions to two runs on three hits over eight innings on Friday, April 17 as the Fighters beat Seibu, 4-2, for their third consecutive win. Darvish struck out eight and walked two for the win, retiring the first eight batters he faced before Seibu’s Hiram Bocachica slammed a homer in the third inning. Shinji Takahashi hit a two-run homer and singled in another score for the Fighters, who got a scoreless ninth inning from reliever Hisashi Takeda for the save.

Despite the loss, Seibu held on to first place in the Pacific League with a 7-4-1 record, a half-game ahead of 7-5 Rakuten. Nippon Ham moved into third place at 6-5, while Orix is in fourth with a 6-6 mark. Lotte is fifth place at 4-7, just ahead of 4-7-1 Softbank.