◆Pre-season game Rakuten Eagles 0-1 Lotte (5th, Shizuoka)

Rakuten Eagles 's fourth-year right-pitcher, Kosei Shoji started the game, pitching for five innings and allowing six hit and one runs. He showed his worth as the opening pitcher.

He threw five innings, the longest in his third outing, with a 151-kilometer fastball splitter and a 1 runs. He did not allow the first hitter baserunner to reach base and set up the game. I didn't allow the first baserunner to reach base, so I didn't have a major setback. I managed to close out the key points, or rather, I was able to closer get in with the fewest runs pitches. He threw 80 pitches, the most he had thrown so far in the tournament, but he did not forget to reflect on his performance: "As my pitch count increased, I started missing more pitches, so I want to correct that in practice.

This is the fourth year for the right-hander, who was drafted first overall in 2010 out of Rikyu University. The most wins in the past three years was five in 2011, and last season he started protecting the starting rotation midway through the season. His goal is to start the season pitcher. I think it's a step forward," said Shoji in response to Miki's assessment. Without letting up, he will continue to prepare for his first major role.