Baseball: Yamamoto gem keeps Buffaloes on top of Pacific League

Ace right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto took a shutout into the eighth inning Friday as he pitched the Pacific League-leading Orix Buffaloes to a 5-1 victory over the Nippon Ham Fighters.

At Es Con Field Hokkaido outside Sapporo, Yamamoto (7-3) allowed a run on seven hits over eight innings. He struck out seven without issuing a walk as the two-time defending PL champions maintained a half-game lead over the second-place SoftBank Hawks, who came from behind to beat the Seibu Lions 3-1.

“I was able to hang in there even while pitching with runners on base,” said Yamamoto, who was presented with a t...