◆ Pacific League Nippon-Ham vs. Lotte (1st, ES CON FIELD)

Nippon-Ham 's starting pitcher, Koki Kitayama, pitched 5 2/3 innings, giving up 3 hit 4 runs.

In the first inning, he retired the side in order, even clocking the fastest pitch of the day at 153 km/h. In the second inning, he allowed runner on base due to an error, but calmly shut down the subsequent batters, holding the Lotte lineup, which had been no hitter by Hosono the previous day, hit through three innings.

However, in the 4th inning, after allowing Nishikawa to hit his first hit hit up the middle, Teraji connected with a double infield hit to put runners on first and second with two outs. Here, Soto caught a straight ball from full count and scored the first three runs of the game with a three-run double over left field.

In the fifth inning, closer the side in order with good rhythm, but in the sixth inning, he walked Walk and committed a balk, putting a runner on second with one out. He got Polanco to fly out to center field for the second out, but his pitch count reached 100, so he handed mound over to Yamazaki. Yamazaki then allowed a timely single to left field to Teraji, bringing Kitayama's runs allowed to four.

Kitayama was originally scheduled to start the second game of the season, but considering that he had only pitched two inning in the WBC, his appearance on this day was decided. He pitched 3 1/3 innings against Yakult Swallows on March 22 (at Escon Stadium), giving up 4 hit 1 runs. He had been preparing himself during the short adjustment period.