[Nippon-Ham] 1 hit won it!　A rare fifth time in Pa...Castro's priceless final 2 solo Koki Kitayama is the first of the season in the 8th inning 3 hit nothing runs win

[Nippon-Ham] They won with just one hit! The fifth rare occurrence in the Pacific League... Castro hits a priceless game-winning solo home run (his 2nd of the season) and Koki Kitayama pitches 8 scoreless innings, allowing only 3 hit to runs his first win of the season.

Sports Hochi

April 8, 2026 20:21

Nippon-Ham 's starting Koki Kitayama Kitayama (Photo by Masahiko Ikeuchi)

◆ Pacific League Rakuten Eagles 0-1 Nippon-Ham (August 8th, Rakuten Eagles Mobile)

Nippon-Ham secured their first away win of the season thanks to a strong pitching performance from pitcher Koki Kitayama.

In his second appearance of the season, Kitayama's fastball exceeded 150 km/h, and breaking ball, including fork, were also effective. He recorded outs at a good tempo, pitching eight innings, allowing only three hit and no runs, and striking out 10 strike out. He earned his first win of the season.

The batting lineup was closer perfectly by Rakuten Eagles 's Koja through three innings, but in the fourth inning, Castro led off with a solo home run, his second of the season, to give them the lead. In a tense pitcher duel, this home run proved to be the winning run. A 1-0 win with only one hit, Home Run, was a rare occurrence for the team, the fifth time in Pacific League and the 11th time in history, the first time since April 2022.

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