Shohei Tateyama, who appeared on "Pro baseball News 2026" broadcast on Fuji TV ONE on the 23rd, commented on Rakuten Eagles 's closer, Shoma Fujihira who runs in the 9th inning of the game against Lotte and was pitcher with lose.

Fujihira, returning to the mound since the Softbank Hawks game on May 15, got up mound in the ninth inning with a 6-2 lead, but after giving Walk to the leadoff Koki Yamaguchi, he hit Kota Inoue and Ryusei Terachi in a series of hits, putting the bases loaded in a no-out jam. He retired pinch hitter Polanco struck out swinging, but with consecutive RBI hits from Ryusei Ogawa and Atsuki Tomosugi, the lead was cut to one run. During Misho Nishikawa 's at-bat, he threw a wild pitch to runner third, tying the game. He then gave up a timely hit to Nishikawa, and Fujihira pitched 0 1/3 innings, giving up 5 hit and 5 runs before being pulled.

Tateyama pointed out, "I think it depends on how much he's warmed up in bullpen in terms of opportunities to pitch, but since they've been losing all week, I don't think he's had much of a chance to warm up."

"If it had been a competitive situation and the pitcher just before had been hit and there was no climbing on the board, I might have made it. But he did 5 runs today, but he hadn't made 1 runs in 16 games so far. There have been many games won with him as a solid closer. I hope he can switch over and pitch well.

Rakuten Eagles lost 6-7, extending their losing streak to five games.