"I was very surprised by how much news it made in my country," Iwakuma said through translator Antony Suzuki prior to Friday's series opener with the Red Sox. "It kind of hit me a lot."
Iwakuma learned from friends in his homeland that many Japanese TV stations switched over to watch the final innings of Wednesday's 3-0 victory over the Orioles.
"It's an honor," Iwakuma said. "I got to see the news and I didn't know much about the history until that day. Now, you look back and think I'm the second Japanese pitcher to accomplish that here in the Majors after [Hideo] Nomo, and that's something very special.