Rakuten Eagles Kenta Maeda pitcher mound He will make his first appearance in an NPB game in 3791 days, the first time he has pitched in an NPB game since Oct. 7, 2003, when he was with Hiroshima Chunichi at Mazda.

Kenta Maeda, who has been steadily adjusting, including taking the mound for a simulated game on the 16th, said of his first actual game, "It's still an open game, so I'm not that excited yet," but he also showed his fighting spirit, saying, "Last time (in the simulated game), I was playing against my own teammates, so I didn't throw many inside pitches, but from now on I'll pitch with the intention of closer in check."

He is scheduled to start the first game and pitch about two inning. "The only player I know (from DeNA) is Tsutsugo. I'm really looking forward to facing him again after so long," he said, expressing his eagerness to play against the slugger who also has experience in MLB.