◆ Pacific League: Lotte 5-3 Rakuten Eagles (29th, ZOZO Marine Stadium)

Lotte Akira Yagi pitcher (28) picked up his fourth win, tied for the lead in both leagues, coming on in the fifth inning with one out and runners on first and second with a 3-2 lead. The first pitch against Yutaka Ito was a three-run homer double play to get out of a pinch and get the win.

The 28-year-old right-hander, who joined the team in the 2021 draft as the 5th pick from Hachinohe Gakuin Kosei High School, Tohoku Fukushi University, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries West, earned his first professional win on April 15 against Nippon-Ham on April 16, his second win against the same team on the 16th, his third win against Softbank Hawks on the 25th, and his fourth win against Rakuten Eagles on this day, all as a relief pitcher.

"I'm really glad we were able to get that double play in that situation (5th inning, 1 out, runners on first and second). I still can't quite believe it, including the fact that we've won four games. Nishino (Yuji) was also doing really well, but he asked me to take over in that situation, so I went in with the intention of throwing a tough pitch to make sure they didn't score. It was only one pitch, but I'm really glad," he said with a sigh of relief.