Naoyuki Shimizu tossed a four-hit shutout Friday and the Lotte Marines snapped the Softbank Hawks' season-opening five-game wininng streak with a 5-0 victory in the Pacific League.
Shimizu, who lost Lotte's season opener, struck out four and didn't walk a batter at Chiba Marine Stadium as the Hawks dropped to 5-1.
The Central League began its season six days after the Pacific League opened as Greg Larocca hit a game-tying solo homer and Koichi Ogata followed with a two-run blast in the ninth to rally the Hiroshima Carp past the Yomiuri Giants 4-2.
Hiroki Kuroda pitched a complete game while striking out seven and walking none for the win.
Yomiuri starter Koji Uehara struggled early but allowed just one run on four hits in seven innings.
In other Central League games, at the Nagoya Dome, Alex Ochoa hit a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the defending Japan Series champion Chunichi Dragons a 4-0 win over the Yokohama BayStars.
Kazuyoshi Tatsunami hit a leadoff triple to left before Tyrone Woods and Kosuke Fukudome were intentionally walked to set the stage for Ochoa's homer.
And Alex Ramirez hit a three-run homer to pace the Yakult Swallows to a 6-1 victory over the Hanshin Tigers.
In the Pacific League, Luis Lopez hit a three-run homer to highlight a six-run first inning as the Ratuten Eagles downed the Seibu Lions 16-5 at Fullcast Stadium.
Hisashi Iwakuma got his second win in his second start as the Eagles snapped a four-game losing streak.
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