Italian right-hander Alessandro Maestri has won his first start of the 2013 season in Nippon Professional Baseball. He led his ORIX Buffaloes to a 13-2 victory over the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. The former Minor Leaguer with the Chicago Cubs topped 91 MPH on the radar gun and allowed two runs on six hits and three walks in six innings on the mound. He struck out two, former Major Leaguers Casey McGehee and Andruw Jones, while throwing 109 pitches in his outing.
The game was over quickly, as the Buffaloes scored five runs in the second and seven in the fourth en route to the blowout. It is the second season for Maestri in Japan, who raised interest among NPB clubs last year with strong performances in the Australian Baseball League and an independent league in Japan.