NISHINOMIYA, Japan – Masahiro Tanaka earned his 202nd career win spanning Japanese professional baseball and the U.S. major leagues, surpassing a mark set by Japanese Hall of Famer Hideo Nomo, as the Yomiuri Giants edged the Hanshin Tigers 4-3 on Thursday.
A former ace of the New York Yankees, Tanaka (2-0) allowed three runs on seven hits with four strikeouts over six innings at Koshien Stadium.
Bobby Dalbec’s three-run homer off Tigers starter Easton Lucas (0-2) opened the scoring in the top of the first inning, and the Giants added an insurance run in the third.
The 37-year-old right-hander gave up a two-run homer to Teruaki Sato in the first but battled through, escaping a fifth-inning jam as the Hanshin Tigers cut the deficit to 4-3.
“I wanted to hold onto the lead,” Tanaka said of the fifth inning, adding, “I’m relieved I was able to get the win today.”
Giants relievers shut out the final three innings, with Raidel Martinez closing out the ninth.
Last year, Tanaka became the fourth pitcher to reach a total of 200 Nippon Professional Baseball and Major League Baseball wins, following Nomo, Hiroki Kuroda and current San Diego Padres starter Yu Darvish.
Tanaka began his professional career in 2007 with the Pacific League Rakuten Eagles and joined the Yankees in 2014, before returning to Japan in 2021.