Baseball: Fighters’ Uwasawa fans 9, shuts out Lions

Naoyuki Uwasawa struck out nine over the distance for his first shutout in five years as the Nippon Ham Fighters beat the Seibu Lions 3-0 Wednesday in the Pacific League.

Uwasawa (4-2) allowed four hits and two walks at Es Con Field Hokkaido outside Sapporo, for his fifth career shutout.

“I’m extremely happy today since my struggles have been going on and on,” Uwasawa said. “I wanted to give our relievers a break and go at least seven innings tonight. When I got to the mound, and heard the fans’ cheers, that gave me extra strength.”

The Fighters broke up a scoreless game in the fifth with thre...