◆ Practice match Nippon-Ham 9-9 Rakuten Eagles (15th, Kin Town)

Rakuten Eagles pitcher Ryota Takinaka (31) started in a practice game against Nippon-Ham on the 15th, pitching two innings and allowing two hit and one runs.

With two outs and a runs on second in the first inning, Gunji closer a single to center field, allowing a run, but he retired all three batters in the second inning before leaving the game. "I wasn't trying to force it, and I was able to pitch with good balance," he said. He mixed in some breaking ball, including slider and fork, and reflected, "I'm trying out breaking ball, so I threw a few more of those. Some of the balls had good movement, but I still need to improve my accuracy."

The seventh-year right-hander pitched in 15 games last season, with a record of four wins and nine losses and ERA 3.44. "The thing that's most important to me is control, so it's a balance with that (speed). Today, I threw a few balls out of the strike zone, so I want to improve that and other areas," he said, looking to improve his accuracy ahead of the opening game.