The last time Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles pitcher Masahiro Tanaka lost a game he started, Japan had a different Prime Minister and U.S. President Barack Obama was running for re-election.

Tanaka, a 24-year-old ace for the first-place Eagles, has won 22 straight decisions dating back to Aug. 19, 2012. He's already broken the record for consecutive wins in Nippon Professional Baseball and is closing in on the major league mark of 24 straight wins held by Carl Hubbell of the New York Giants spanning the 1936 and 1937 seasons.

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