Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who could be moving to Major League Baseball next season, pitched the 100th no-hitter in Japanese big league history on Saturday for the Orix Buffaloes against the Lotte Marines.
Yamamoto struck out eight, walked one and hit one batter in the 4-0 victory, extending his scoreless streak to 42 innings. The 25-year-old right-hander is 14-5 with a 1.26 ERA 145 strikeouts and 24 walks in 143 innings this season.
It was the second no-hitter for the two-time Pacific League MVP, who threw his first against the Seibu Lions on June 18 last year.
He was 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA in two starts and one relief appearance at this year's World Baseball Classic, striking out 12 and walking two in 7 1/3 innings.
Yamamoto does not have enough service time to become a free agent in Japan but he could be offered to MLB teams under the posting system agreed to by MLB and Nippon Professional Baseball.
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