Rakuten Eagle’s pitcher Masahiro Tanaka made his first start of the season against Nippon Ham (Tokyo Dome) on the 17th and gave up 3 Runs in 5 innings.
The team lost 1-4 and Tanaka became a losing pitcher, and it was the first lost he took in Japan in a while. His winning streak record in Japan which started from 8/26/2012 stopped at 28. The last time he pitched in Japan was during the game 7 of Japan series which was 11/3/2013.
Tanaka pitched in Japan for the first time in 8 years, and this victory would have got him 100th Win in Japan. Although his return was not decorated with victory, the tv rating was great and Masahiro Tanaka gave courage and excitement again in Tohoku area in Japan.