SENDAI, Japan (AP) — The Rakuten Eagles beat the Yomiuri Giants 3-0 in Game 7 of the Japan Series on Sunday to win their first championship.
Rakuten starter Manabu Mima held the Giants to one hit while striking out five over six scoreless innings for the win. Rookie Takahiro Norimoto pitched two scoreless innings of relief and 24-game winner Masahiro Tanaka retired the side in the ninth.
Casey McGehee made it 1-0 in the first inning with a hard-hit ball that shortstop Hayato Sakamoto bobbled, allowing Ginji Akaminai to score from third.
The Eagles added another run in the second inning on a double by Takeru Okajima and Akihisa Makida completed the scoring with a solo homer in the fourth.
The Giants are the oldest and most successful team in Japanese baseball with 22 championships.
