◆ Pacific League Rakuten Eagles 3-2 Nippon-Ham (May 5th, Rakuten Eagles Mobile is the strongest)

Rakuten Eagles came from behind to win, extending their winning streak to three games.

They turned the game around with a home run offensive. Trailing by two runs in the fifth inning, Taira hit a solo home run for the second consecutive game to start the comeback. Trailing by one run in the seventh inning, with no outs and a runner on first, Asamura hit a two-run homer to right field. His fourth home run of the season gave them the lead.

Rakuten Eagles Manager Hajime Miki said, "Of course, the focus will be on Asamura, and I think his home run was a really great hit that decided the game, but the pinch hit in the inning before that (bases loaded with two outs in the 7th inning) was thrown out by Shoji to winning pitcher, and Hirara's single hit in the 5th inning. I think each and every player is developing a stubbornness to not let the game end easily and to not give up the next extra run, and I think that awareness is really growing.

Starter Shoji gave up two solo homers, but his tenacity was pitch. He threw 123 pitches over 7 inning, scoring 5 hit 2 runs, tying for the league's leading fourth win. In the seventh inning with two outs and bases loaded, he kept pitching despite the pitch count approaching 120, and got through the runs with no pitches. The coach lowered the corners of his eyes and said, "There are various opinions, but today we chose Shoji. Because he worked hard there, he earned his results (wins), and I hope he gains confidence and experience."