◆Nippon Life Central-Pacific Interleague Series 2026 Hanshin Tigers 8–1 Rakuten Eagles (May 5, Koshien)

Rakuten Eagles pitcher Takayuki Kishi (41) started against Hanshin Tigers in an attempt to get his first win of the season, but gave up 3 hit 2 runs in 5 innings, suffering his second loss of the season.

This veteran, making his second appearance of the season, got off to a strong start by closer the first inning with no runs. From the second inning onward, he showed runner but remained persistent pitch. In the second inning, he escaped a no-out, runner-on-second crisis with no runs, and in the fourth, he gave up three Walk to make it two outs bases loaded, but retired Kumagai struck out swinging.

But it was only five times. With two outs and runners on first and second, Teru Sato faced the challenge. count Caught a change-up thrown from 3-1 and gave up a two-point doble to right-center. They pitched tenaciously but conceded the opening goal. The balance was broken. In the sixth inning, he was replaced by a pinch hitter in the leadoff at-bat. He threw 102 pitches over 5 inning, including 5 walks and Hit by Pitch. The veteran reflected, "I think we held on well, but we couldn't hold on at the end. It's unfortunate, but in the end, those two runs were everything."

Had he secured the win, he would have become the 14th player in history to achieve 20 consecutive win, but that remarkable feat was put on hold.