◆ Pacific League Rakuten Eagles 3-1 Nippon-Ham (April 4th, Rakuten Eagles Mobile is the strongest)

Rakuten Eagles came from behind to defeat Nippon-Ham, extending their winning streak to two games.

The batting lineup, which had been silent against Nippon-Ham 's starting pitcher Fukushima, came alive in the 8th inning when they were trailing by one run. Taira led off with a solo home run to tie the game, and then with one out, Tatsumi hit a game-winning solo home run. Rakuten Eagles manager Miki Hajime praised Taira, saying, "He hit well at a crucial moment. It was a situation where we were tying the game, then it was either we'd be overtaken or we'd score the next run, but I think Ryosuke Tatsumi's hitting was truly superb."

Taira, who hit the game-tying home run, is a hard worker who experienced being demoted to the minor leagues in the offseason of 2024. His manager, who has watched him grow since his time as the minor league manager, is pleased with his performance. "He was demoted, went through rehabilitation from an injury, and then produced results in the minor leagues last year. He's been with the first team since this spring's camp. He has a fierce look in his eyes, determined not to let this chance slip away. He's positive and cheerful, and he brings a really good atmosphere to the team. His strengths are his aggressiveness and decisiveness. I've been watching him in the minor leagues for a long time, but today Taira's strengths really shone through. He's becoming a player the team needs, and I think he will become one. I expect him to become an even greater asset to the team, and he really did a great job today," he said with a smile.

The starter, Takinaka, stayed strong from the start runner out, pitching until the middle of the 6th inning, giving up 7 hit but not giving up a run. It was a comeback after a tenacious battle offensively and defensively. The coach said, "There were many cases where Takihaka had a bit of trouble, but I think they did a good job Hikaru Ito and persevered. Overall, I was happy with the way we were able to persevere both offensively and defensively today, and the fact that we were able to hang on. Nishigaki and Fujihira were good, and Sora Suzuki also managed to closer win by 1 runs. They won well," said Nishigaki, pleased with his team's united win effort.

Despite a tough stretch, they rallied in the final stages and managed to turn the game around. Having snapped a six-game losing streak against Softbank Hawks the previous day (at Mizuho PayPay Dome), the team has now won two straight games and climbed to fourth place.