Raidel Martinez

Tokyo, Jun 20 (PL) Cuban Raidel Martinez confirmed himself as one of the best closers in Japanese baseball, after signing his 23rd save today in the Yomiuri Giants' 2-1 win over the Seibu Lions.

The lanky pitcher consummated his 189th lifetime save during eight seasons in the Japanese Major Leagues with a perfect three-strikeout performance in the ninth inning before a crowd of more than 42,000 fans at the majestic Tokyo Dome in the Japanese capital.

Martinez keeps his ERA unblemished after 27.2 innings of work and also adds a hit and two shutouts to his resume in the current campaign.

He has 29 strikeouts and just eight walks, statistics that also endorse his hierarchy among the bullpen pitchers of the select Asian tournament.

In other results on Friday, the Orix Buffaloes defeated the Yakult Swallows (10-8), the Chiba Lotte Marines beat the DeNA Stars (6-1), and the Nippon Ham Fighters blanked the Chunichi Dragons (1-0).

The day was completed with wins for SoftBank Hawks over Hanshin Tigers by 2-1 and Rakuten Eagles over Hiroshima Carp (4-0).