By Yoon Chul
Korean veteran Park Chan-ho of the Orix Buffaloes completed a third consecutive quality start in a 3-1 loss against Rakuten Golden Eagles in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), Friday.
In a road game at the Kleenex Stadium, Park endured his longest spell on the mound in the NPB with eight innings allowing three runs on nine hits with four strikeouts.
He raised his ERA from 1.98 to 2.49 with a 1-2 record.
Park headed to Japan this season after ending a 15-year career in Major League Baseball. He started well in the first inning. But after the Korean had an out in the second he allowed five hits, including four consecutively, for three runs.
After that the 37-year-old Korean overwhelmed the Rakuten.
His Korean teammate Lee Seung-yeop was at-bat four times but failed to record any hits.
A quality start is when a starter pitches lasts six innings allowing three runs or less.