◆Nippon Life Insurance Central vs. Pacific League Interleague Play 2025 Nippon-Ham 8x-7 Hiroshima = 10 innings extra inning = (15th, ES CON FIELD)
The "Shinjo Shuffle" worked for Nippon-Ham, who came from behind by seven points, the largest deficit in interleague play history, win, and secured two consecutive victories. They were behind by seven points in the sixth inning, but fought back to close the gap by two points in the ninth, and in the tenth extra inning, Tamiya, who was promoted from walk-off run for the second time in a row. Four players promoted by manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo (53) on the 13th contributed to win. Rakuten and Lotte also won walk-off games, tying the record for the most walk-off games on the same day in interleague play. The Pacific League also won all six games on the same day for the seventh time in total. The six Pacific League teams are tied for sixth place in the interleague play, making for a "high Pacific vs low Central League" situation.
The arc that sealed the end of the big comeback flew into the front row of the right field stands. With the score extra inning in the 10th inning, leadoff hitter Tamiya caught walk-off 's Kuribayashi's 151 km/h pitch. It was his second solo home run over the right field fence and the win. The 25-year-old, who accomplished something great on his third day back after being re-promoted, said, "I've been adjusting my hitting skills to get results. I'm glad I was able to do that." The come-from-behind victory despite being down by seven runs is the largest margin of victory in the interleague games. It was the team's first dramatic win in 17 years, since their game Rakuten on April 8, 2008.
It was the tenacity of the ninth inning that brought about walk-off. With a two-run lead and two outs and no runner on base, the 34-year-old Nakajima was in a tight spot after two pitches, but he persevered with foul balls and chose the ninth pitch Walk. Manager Shinjo said, "Didn't I tell you yesterday? You don't have to choose (Walk). Rejected. Please choose (laughs)." This valuable tenacity, complete surrender, led to a single by Kiyomiya Yuki to right field, and with two outs and runners on second and third, Reyes stubbornly hit a two-run timely hit to center field to tie the game. The manager, who had caught up at the last minute, jumped out of the bench and exploded with joy, saying, "I'm really excited."
Shinjo's "shuffling" got the job done. After the game, when he appeared in front of the press, he said to himself, "I was impressed. All the players who came up to the field hit," he said with a smug look on his face. On the 13th, the first game of the three-game series, the team changed eight players, an unprecedented move for a team in good form. Nomura was promoted sacrifice fly, Miyazaki became the first pro RBI to hit a left-field doble, Nakajima hit a left-field shot and Walk, and Tamiya hit walk-off. All four players contributed win. I've been watching them for a long time now. I don't think the farm manager and coach had Miyazaki-kun and Nakajima-kun (promoted) in mind. I think now is the time for me." He praised himself for his "intuition pewter.
With two straight wins in a major comeback, the team now has 11 points, the most this season. Manager Shinjo said, "Even if the demoted players are here, they will have fewer at-bats. Let's give them a chance, and this is a rotation. For the players who play (on the first team), this is their chance, and they may even become regulars." He expected both teams to step up to the plate. This is their fourth year, and they're putting their all into it. Their player base is certainly getting deeper. (Yamaguchi Yasushi)
Overcoming the biggest score difference in the interleague games win
▼... Nippon-Ham came from behind to win after a seven-point deficit. The last time they came from behind by more than seven points was on May 11th of last year, when DeNA came from behind to win against Hanshin Tigers. For Nippon-Ham, it was the first time they came from behind by seven points in a win against Rakuten on April 8th, 2008. The largest margin of win for Nippon-Ham was a nine-point margin against Orix on July 29th, 2003.
▼...The largest comeback in an interleague game was a 7-point comeback win for Orix against Chunichi on June 2, 2010, and the comeback on this day is the same as the largest comeback in an interleague game.
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