Masahiro Tanaka of the Yomiuri Giants pitches during a Central League game against the Hanshin Tigers at Koshien Stadium in Hyogo Prefecture on May 1, 2026. (Kyodo)


NISHINOMIYA (Kyodo) — Masahiro Tanaka earned his 203rd career win spanning Japanese baseball and the U.S. majors Friday as the Yomiuri Giants beat the Hanshin Tigers 5-3, tying his former New York Yankees teammate Hiroki Kuroda.


Tanaka (3-0) gave up three runs on eight hits and four walks over 5-1/3 innings while striking out eight at Koshien Stadium, pitching in his home Hyogo Prefecture and at the ballpark where he first gained national prominence as a high school star.


Kota Hirayama hit a bases-loaded, two-run single in the second and Bobby Dalbec belted a three-run home run in the third for the Giants, both with no outs off Shoki Murakami (1-2) to give Tanaka a big lead.


“I’ve made it a tough game,” said Tanaka, who loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the third and gave up two runs on a Seishiro Sakamoto single before leaving the mound with bases loaded with one out in the sixth.


Tanaka became the fourth pitcher to reach 200 wins in Nippon Professional Baseball and Major League Baseball combined last year before surpassing Japanese Hall of Famer Hideo Nomo (201) on April 16. Current San Diego Padres starter Yu Darvish leads the list with 208 wins, which include 93 for the Nippon Ham Fighters.


Tanaka began his professional career in 2007 with the Rakuten Eagles and rejoined the Pacific League club in 2021 to spend another four years, amassing 119 wins. Tanaka made his Yankees debut in 2014, which was Kuroda’s last year at the club.


Kuroda went 79-79 during his seven-year MLB stay from 2008, spending the first four seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers before moving to New York, where he had 16 wins in his first season with the Yankees in 2012.


He had 124 wins for the Hiroshima Carp, for whom he returned to play the last two seasons of his career.


In other Central League action, Kazuya Maruyama hit for the cycle as the Yakult Swallows demolished the DeNA BayStars 16-5.