Baseball: Eagles blow out Buffaloes behind Tanaka

Masahiro Tanaka cruised through eight innings as the Rakuten Eagles paddled the Pacific League-leading Orix Buffaloes 9-1 Thursday.

Tanaka (6-6) went to the mound at Kyocera Dome Osaka with a two-run lead, and after pitching out of a first-inning jam, never looked back.

The former New York Yankee allowed five hits and two walks while striking out three as he located well and changed speeds to keep the Buffaloes from making consistent solid contact.

The Eagles, who snapped Orix’s four-game winning streak, scored four runs over three innings against Jacob Waguespack (3-5), who was summoned from ...