With the Pacific League pennant race as tight as can be, Rick Van den Hurk threw six solid innings for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in an 8-5 win over the Orix Buffaloes on Sunday afternoon.
The Dutch international, who had not pitched on the first team since May 31 due to a smorgasbord of ailments, allowed two runs on six hits and a walk, while striking out seven to improve his record to 7-1. The win kept the Hawks in the league lead, a half-game ahead of the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters.
Before 38,500 at Yafuoku Dome, the Hawks took a three-run lead in the first off Nobuyoshi Yamada (1-7). Seiichi Uchikawa hit the third of three one-out singles to break the ice. A throwing error made it 2-0 and Yuki Yoshimura's sacrifice fly capped the rally.