Baseball: Sasaki strikes out 11 in Marines’ win over Lions

Roki Sasaki pitched out of early trouble to strike out 11 over eight innings in a 2-1 Pacific League win Wednesday over the Seibu Lions.

With Seibu hitters looking for first-pitch fastballs at Zozo Marine Stadium east of Tokyo, Sasaki (6-2) quickly found himself in a first-inning jam, with two hits on his first two pitches.

With runners on second and third and no outs, the 192-centimeter right-hander buckled down and struck out the next three batters.

“I was thinking, ‘This is very bad.’ But I was able to give it all I had and get out of the inning,”

Sasaki said. Sasaki was barely threatened a...