On March 18th at 6 PM, an exhibition game between the Saitama Seibu Lions and the Tohoku Rakuten Rakuten Eagles will be held at Belluna Dome.

Saitama Seibu Lions 's Lin An-ke participated in the "2026 WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC™" as a representative of Taiwan, but was unable to achieve the desired results, At Bat 1 hit 15. Nevertheless, he recorded two hit in the game the day before, and since rejoining the team, his form has been improving, with 3 At Bat, 2 walks, and 1 Walk in 9 at RBI hit in 3 exhibition games. Expectations are high that he will play a key role in helping the team, which struggled with a lack of scoring power last season.

On the opposing side, Tohoku Rakuten Eagles 's focus is on Tsuyoshi Ishihara. Although his playing opportunities have been limited so far in the preseason games, he has produced results with a batting average of .333. In the previous day's game, his first appearance in a first-team game in about two weeks, he caught two inning and led the team without allowing any runs. With Hikaru Ito joining the team as a free agent this season, the competition for the starting catcher is intensifying. With less than two weeks until the season opener, the question is whether he can make an impression both offensively and defensively.

Written by Ao Yokoyama