The Hiroshima Carp pounded Tokyo Yakult's Masato Furuno for five runs in the first inning and ace pitcher Kenta Maeda did the rest in a 7-1 win over the Central League-leading Swallows on Friday.
"Jumping out in front like that made it easy going on the mound," said Maeda(7-5), who allowed a run on four hits and a walk over seven innings, while striking out seven en route to winning his third straight start.
"I was fired up and basically everything was working for me."