Baseball: Gonzalez, rookie Yamashita lift Orix over Rakuten

New import Marwin Gonzalez homered twice and 20-year-old rookie Shumpeita Yamashita struck out 10 over five innings to earn his first career win Tuesday as the Orix Buffaloes beat the Rakuten Eagles 6-0.

Gonzalez, who hit 107 home runs as a versatile MLB utility player between 2012 and 2022, blasted his second homer of the season with a man on in the third for the defending Pacific League champions at Rakuten Mobile Park Miyagi.

Yamashita (1-0), the Buffaloes’ top draft signing in 2020, allowed two hits, two walks and a hit batsman. In his first two games in Japan’s majors, the right-hander ha...