◆Pre-season Rakuten Eagles 1-2 Nippon-Ham (12th, Shizuoka)

catcher Hikaru Ito, who joined Rakuten Eagles from DeNA as a free agent, wore starting line-up mask for the first time in a preseason game since his transfer.

Nishiguchi, who started the game, threw 34 pitches to seven hitter in the first inning and gave up two runs, but the 36-year-old veteran advised, "Let's try to use breaking ball a little better." He recovered in the second through fourth innings, retiring the side in order in each inning, and said with a calm expression, "I've had a lot of experience in my own way. Today, I just wanted to use breaking ball a little better. I think if we can increase the repertoire of pitcher, we can become a better team and a better battery."