◇ Tohoku Rakuten Eagles vs. Tokyo Yakult "Nippon Life Central and Pacific League Interleague 2026" Round 3 (31st, Rakuten Eagles Mobile Saikyo Park Miyagi)

Tohoku Rakuten Eagles 's Masaya Nishigaki pitcher provided solid relief without conceding any additional runs. In the previous day's game, he sparked a scoring flow from the team's first hit after coming in.

Just after tying the game, in the top of the fifth, starter Masaru Fujii pitcher gave up a timely hit to Montel and gave up the go-ahead hit. With one out and runners on first and second, Nishigaki pitcher was mound. In the match against Strong hitter Santana, he hit fork as his winning pitch and got the ball off struck out, then Kao Suzuki blocked a second baseman ground ball with a sharp fastball to the inside corner, preventing any additional runs.

pitcher Nishigaki came in as the second pitcher in the top of the 6th inning with the score tied 0-5 the previous day, and retired all three batters in order over 11 pitches, including two consecutive struck out. After establishing the offensive rhythm, in the bottom of the sixth, the lineup saw Daisuke Nakashima player hit for the first time on the team, and Yoshiaki Watanabe hit his first two-run homer, igniting a comeback. In this game as well, he responded brilliantly to the coaching's decision to start early relief pitching, waiting for support from his teammates for his first interleague win.

Text by Ao Yokoyama