The Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters handed former Koshien hero Yuki Saito the start Thursday afternoon in a bid to end their losing streak, but the right-hander instead helped prolong it in an 11-2 rout of the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.

Rookie Hayato Yuge allowed a run over 4-1/3 innings in his pro debut, getting some clutch relief help from Ryota Ishibashi (2-1). The Eagles tagged Saito for three runs over 1-1/3 innings, and then broke the game open against Nippon Ham’s bullpen.

Saito (0-1), known as the Handkerchief Prince since gaining fame at the National High School Baseball Tournament in 2006, couldn’t get any left-handed hitters out until he was trailing 3-0.

Kazuki Tanaka, the 2018 PL Rookie of the Year, singled to open the game after falling behind in the count. He stole second and scored when Eigoro Mogi lined a double to the right-field gap.

With runners on second and third after a one-out walk, a fly out and a stolen base, Eagles captain Ginji Akaminai grounded a single to make it 3-0.

“Our pitchers are doing well and establishing a good rhythm (for us hitters),” said Akaminai, who doubled twice in the Eagles’ eight-run sixth inning. “The bench guys are full of life, showing a lot of spirit, and the starters draw energy from them.”

The Eagles have now won five straight, while the Fighters fell to 1-4-1.

“Saito doesn’t throw hard, but he is good at locating low in the zone,” Rakuten manager Yosuke Hiraishi said. “You have to make him throw strikes and look for those low pitches. We emphasized that and the players executed.

“From the numbers, it looked like Yuge did well, but he fell behind in counts, and walked guys. You’d like him to get through five innings. Those are issues, but it was not a bad beginning for him.”

Lions 8, Marines 6

At Tokorozawa’s MetLife Dome, Seibu held off Chiba Lotte after top draft pick Keisuke Honda (1-0) allowed four runs in six-plus innings to earn the win.

Hawks 3, Buffaloes 0

At Osaka’s Kyocera Dome, Fukuoka SoftBank remained undefeated by blanking Orix, thanks to 7-2/3 innings from starter Shota Takeda (1-0).

CENTRAL LEAGUE

Giants 10, Tigers 1

At Tokyo Dome, Yomiuri ran off its fifth straight win, routing Hanshin as top draft pick Yuki Takahashi worked six innings to win his pro debut.

BayStars 10, Swallows 5

At Tokyo’s Jingu Stadium, Yokohama broke open its victory over Tokyo Yakult on Keita Sano’s seventh-inning, pinch-hit grand slam.

Dragons 3, Carp 2

At Nagoya Dome, Enny Romero (1-0) threw six scoreless innings for the win as Chunichi edged Hiroshima.