◆ RAXUS Asia Professional baseball Championship 2026 Taiwan 0-5 Japan (12th, Tokyo Dome)

The 'Luxas Asia Professional baseball Championship 2026' has opened. Samurai Japan won their first game of the tournament against Taiwan, which was the first match for manager Tadahito Iguchi (51), starting off with a win. infielder Tomoya Masaki (27) performed a feat by hitting home runs in two consecutive at-bats starting from the first inning. After sending a 132-meter arch to left-center in his first at-bat leading off the first inning, he hit a super-sized home run that cleared the signs at the top of the left-field stands in his second at-bat in the third inning. They will face their rival, South Korea, in the second game on the 13th.

The 'number one in Japan' leadoff man went on a rampage. In the first inning, Samurai Japan's Masaki did not miss a straight ball that came in sweet on a 2-2 count. The ball flew to the left of the center field screen, marking his first home run in his first plate appearance for the national team. 'I thought everyone was nervous, so I wanted to make it an at-bat that could somehow encourage them and give them momentum.' Even as the oldest fielder, his performance was better than anyone could have asked for.

Once he gets on a roll, he is unstoppable. In his second at-bat with one out in the third inning, he swung the bat on a full count. The ball became a massive 130-meter home run that even cleared the Kyoritsu Seiyaku billboard at the very top of the left-field stands. Following back-to-back home runs, he drove a hit to center field with a runner on third and no outs in the seventh inning to record 3 RBI. He responded to Manager Iguchi's expectations with more than sufficient results.

The first-inning arch was a strike that could be called his specialty. With the Softbank Hawks, he appeared in a career-high 101 games this season, primarily as the leadoff hitter. He contributed to the team's third consecutive league title and back-to-back Japan Series championships. Among his 28 Home Run, his 7 leadoff Home Run set a new club record. Although this tournament has participation restrictions of 24 years old or younger, or within the first three years of joining a team, this was the first leadoff Home Run for the Japan national team since Shohei Ohtani (Dodgers) against Venezuela in the WBC on March 14, 2026. He also managed to hit two Home Run in a single game on his first international stage, a feat he achieved only once this season.

Having fought through a long season, his ability to make adjustments has been refined. It was October 28th when they won the Japan Series. After a gap in time, he noted that he 'wasn't hitting as expected' during the preliminary training camp. He spent every day doing extra batting practice after hours, aligning his visual feedback with his physical sensations. On this day, he said, 'I had the image of hitting with my whole body. I was able to have my best batting practice yet, so I went into it with confidence,' and the results showed immediately. Manager Iguchi was also impressed, saying, 'I watched him practice feeling that he had properly prepared himself for the game.'

In his specialty, the short-term series, he got off to a rocket start with 3 hits and 3 RBI. 'I think it was a good first game. I want to keep running through like this,' he said, exuding a sense of fulfillment. The fifth-year college graduate, who had a major breakout season, will finish it off by becoming 'Number One in Asia.' (Toyo Moriguchi)