The Nippon Seimei Central-Pa Exchange Game 2026 Hanshin Tigers 1-0 Rakuten Eagles (6th, Koshien)

Rakuten Eagles lost to Hanshin Tigers, suffering their third consecutive defeat.

It was a pitcher battle from the start. Hayakawa, who started the game, carefully switched to the course and cooked hitter. He closer runs through the fourth inning, but the game moved to the fifth. In the fifth inning with neither team scoring and one out, a runner on second was in danger, and Kumagai stole third to Kumagai with runner on second. With one out and a runner on third, he gave up a timely single to left by Tateishi, giving up the lead to the game. Hayakawa pitched well with 5 hit 1 runs in the 6th inning but missed out on a win.

The offense, eager to provide support, couldn't deliver that final push against Hanshin Tigers 's starting pitcher, Murakami. In the 4th, 5th, and 6th innings, the leadoff hitter got hit in each inning. However, they couldn't get the crucial hit when the opportunity arose.

After losing a close game, their deficit is now a season-worst 14 games. They are struggling greatly in the interleague series, with a record of 2 wins and 9 losses in 11 games.