◆Nippon Life Interleague Series 2026 Yakult 1-7 Nippon-Ham (July 7th, Jingu Stadium)

Nippon-Ham secured a decisive victory against Yakult on the 7th, achieving their third four-game winning streak of the season. This brought their lead starting line-up to a season-high of "2". catcher Ariel Martínez (30), who started as the cleanup hitter and left fielder, hit a decisive two-run homer to center field in the 5th inning, his first of the season. Although he had been in poor form this season and was sent down to the minor leagues twice, he responded to his first appearance as the cleanup hit of the season by sending his second hit of the season over the center field wall.

At the perfect moment, Martinez struck a straight. The ball shot stretched straight and bounced off the back screen. In the fifth inning, they extended their lead to four runs, but with two outs and a runner on first. Yakult Caught starter Okugawa's 148 km/h pitch. His first two-run homer over center of the season. "From my first at-bat, I entered with the mindset of taking down fastball. I was timing it well, and I think it turned into a home run," he said proudly.

It's been a tough two months. He played a key role for Cuba in the WBC, but his batting has been sluggish since the start of the season. After readjusting in the minor leagues, he returned to the first team in late April, but the results were disappointing. He was promoted to the first starting line-up for the second time on the 5th, but at the start of the game he had only one hit in 19 At Bat-bats, a batting average of .053. In his first start since his second promotion, and batting fourth for the first time this season, he responded with a smash, saying, "I was given the responsible batting order of batting fourth, and I went into the game determined to live up to expectations. I'm happy that I was able to produce results."

His mind was more uncontrollable than his body. "At the beginning of the season, I was really struggling mentally, and there were some difficult times emotionally." Even though he thought he had regained his confidence, it didn't translate into results in the first team. "Now I've switched gears and I'm just thinking about contributing to the team." By focusing on the team rather than himself, he's able to stand at the plate with a calm mind.

The team has won four straight games and is tied for the most wins above .500 with two games. They are now in a position to chase down the top teams. "We can return to Escon in good form for the six consecutive home games starting next week. I want to fight together with the fans," said Martinez. He will ride the wave of momentum with the team and release all the frustration he has accumulated so far.