Shota Takeda struck out eight over six-plus innings as he outpitched former New York Yankee Masahiro Tanaka in the SoftBank Hawks' 9-1 Pacific League win over the Rakuten Eagles on Saturday. Takeda (1-0) allowed just three hits and two walks to the Eagles, who could only manage to scratch out a fourth-inning tying run against him. "It's been a year since my last start, and I haven't been much use to the team since," Takeda said. "So I wanted to do whatever it took to contribute today." "I'm grateful to my teammates scoring runs and making the plays, and the relievers coming in after me. Hopefu...
