◆Farm League: Nippon-Ham 2-3 Rakuten Eagles (13th, Kamagaya)

Rakuten Eagles ・ Kenta Maeda pitcher (38) started in the Farm League game against the Nippon-Ham (Kamagaya) on the 13th, delivering a strong performance with 7 innings pitched, 5 hit 1 runs. This was his first appearance since being removed from the active roster on the 7th. He threw a season-high 104 pitches and recorded 7 struck out.

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It was sharpened until the very end. In the seventh inning with a two-run lead and one out, he runners on first. Ken Maeda shifted his gear. "Since it was the last time, there were some parts where I put a bit of effort." slider the district governor, and Nishikawa was struck out consecutively in splitter. He threw the longest inning of the season.

The stability of the upward movement has increased. He gave up the opening run in the second inning, but after adjusting from the middle inning, he failed to runs pitch from the third. "In the early stages, I tried to pitch too carefully, so I boldly pitched with a feeling that from the very first pitch I could keep getting hit more and more. I started with the feeling that a rough start was fine." It was the result of boldly attacking within the zone.

He threw a season-high 104 pitches. "I was able to throw over 100 pitches and didn't feel like my stamina was dropping at all, which was a good takeaway. I think I was able to show that I can throw that many pitches." There are no concerns about his stamina. His pitching power did not decline even in the middle and later innings.

He has returned to NPB after 11 years, but in his four appearances in the first team, he has a record of 0 wins and 2 losses ERA 4.41. He has yet to record a win. In his last appearance on the 6th against Nippon-Ham (Rakuten Eagles Mobile's strongest), hit 3 hits and 1 runs in 5 innings. "My condition and the balls I'm throwing aren't bad, so all that's left is to work on the finer details. I need to be able to pitch long inning like I did today." The right-handed pitcher with 165 career wins in Japan and the US is preparing to show his true potential.

(Kouta Miyauchi)