Hideo Nomo to active status. This led to him heading to the U.S., where in February 1995, the Los Angeles Dodgers signed him. Nomo made his U.S. pro baseball debut with the Bakersfield Blaze on April 27, 1995, against the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. Placed on a 90-pitch limit, and throwing mainly fastballs, Nomo pitched 5⅓ innings, taking the 2–1 loss against the Quakes. On May 2, after a month in the minors necessitated by a player's strike, he became the first Japanese-born Major Leaguer to appear in a major league game since Masanori Murakami in . He was also the first Japanese-born
Hisashi Iwakuma the Mariners. He was an MLB All-Star in 2013, as well as the third-place finisher for the 2013 American League Cy Young Award. On August 12, 2015, Iwakuma became the second Japanese player ever to pitch a no-hitter in Major League Baseball (joining Hideo Nomo, who threw two), throwing a three-walk, seven-strikeout 3–0 win over the Baltimore Orioles at Safeco Field. It was also his first career complete game, and the Mariners' fifth no-hitter in team history. Iwakuma was born in Higashiyamato, Tokyo, and began playing baseball in the first grade before attending Horikoshi High School in Nakano. Iwakuma was