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Tanaka carries Eagles in home opener

Rakuten Eagles skipper Senichi Hoshino dropped a nation’s worth of weight on right-hander Masahiro Tanaka’s shoulders, knowing the entire country -- minus Orix Buffaloes fans -- would be pulling for the Sendai club to win its home opener after the 3/11 disaster. Still, the manager, in his first year with the Eagles, announced weeks ago that Tanaka would work Friday’s first game at the Kleenex Box.

Hoshino can put a huge feather in Tanaka’s cap, because the fifth-year hurler delivered a gem, tossing a complete game as the Eagles beat the Buffaloes 3-1 before a standing-room-only crowd.

Tanaka (2-0) battled for 138 pitches, holding Orix to six hits, while walking two and punching out six for his 19th career shutout. Supporters changed his name as he worked out a pair of late jams.

"They were chanting 'Masahiro' a lot and I really got a true feeling that they were giving me energy," Tanaka said. "And I'm really grateful for that."

No. 9 hitter Masato Nakamura knocked home the first run with a single, and Ryo Hijirisawa added two more with a bases-loaded single in the third inning off Park Chan Ho (1-2), and Tanaka took care of the rest.

“That kid uses pressure for energy,” Hoshino said of Tanaka’s ability to cope with high-stress situations. “This will be a victory that stands out in my life in baseball.”

The position players were also focused on bring home a victory for Eagles fans and people affected in Sendai and its surrounding areas.

“We had to do anything we could to win this game,” Hijirisawa said. “That’s how I felt when I stepped into the batter’s box.”

MARINES 3, HAWKS 2

Takashi Ogino’s two-out, bases-clearing double in the fifth was all the offense Lotte generated, but all it needed to knock off SoftBank at The Q.

SoftBank’s Yuichi Honda extended his hitting streak from Opening Day to 14 straight games.

FIGHTERS 4, LIONS 1

Yoshio Itoi doubled twice and drove in three runs, and Brian Wolfe (2-1) limited Seibu to one run on four hits and no walks with five Ks as Nippon Ham topped the Lions at Sapporo Dome.

Yang Zhong-sho hit in his 12th straight game for the Fighters, who moved into first place. The Lions lost their third straight.

CENTRAL LEAGUE

TIGERS 4, SWALLOWS 1

Yasutomo Kubo (2-0) worked eight innings, holding the red-hot Swallows to three hits and a walk with four Ks as Hanshin stopped a three-game skid by shooting down front-running Yakult at Koshien Stadium.

Lin Wei-chu’s two-run single in the fourth gave the Tigers the lead, and Takahiro Arai upped his average to .364 with a two-run hit in the fifth as Hanshin halted Yakult’s nine-game winning streak.

CARP 7, DRAGONS 0

Bryan Bullington (3-9) fired a two-hit gem to become the first Hiroshima import to win his first three decisions in Japan as the Carp blanked Chunichi at Nagoya Dome.

Bullington fanned eight, walked one and didn’t give up a hit until Kazuhiro Wada opened the eighth with a hard single to left in his first complete game and first shutout here.

Kenta Kurihara broke a scoreless tie with an RBI double in the sixth, and Yoshihiro Maru followed with a three-run homer to cap a four-run rally.

BAYSTARS 7, GIANTS 6

Shuichi Murata doubled off the wall in right with two outs in the sixth to cap a four-run rally as Yokohama came back to beat visiting Yomiuri and snap a three-game skid.

The Giants have lost four straight and are in fifth place early at 4-7.