◆Nippon Life Interleague Series 2026: Nippon-Ham 4-1 DeNA (June 9th, ES CON FIELD)

As the ball, hit off slider, went up to right field, Nippon-Ham infielder Ruan Ohtsuka (22) ran while praying. It was the third inning, with a one-run lead, two outs, and runners on second and third. The close hit bounced near wall and rolled back onto ground. It was ruled in play, but a review confirmed it was wall over. It was his second home run of the season, a three-run shot over right field, which brought the team closer to win. "The first one was when the team was losing. The boss was happier this time," he said with a smile.

It did not go smoothly. When Director Shinjo left the bench for the in-play decision, the umpire staff gathered to confer. Again, when the decision to call in-play was made, Shinjo immediately made a request. He said, "When you are over 50 years old, you can't judge. We need to have it light up when it crosses the blue line (laughs). I thought I'd make the request for Otsuka-kun. In the replay video, the ball hit the fence at the back of wall and went to ground. He greeted Otsuka with both hands raised.

It couldn't be left as a phantom. Before the game, first baseman duo Oswald and Tom Brown appeared for the first pitch. Together with Coach Morimoto, who played the role of hitter, they donned masks and revived the legendary "Gorenger" (bases loaded off walk-off slam. This time, a challenge prevented the rookie from hitting his "phantom home run."

The team achieved its first five-game winning streak of the season, bringing their lead to a season-high three games above .500. Mizutani, the "Interleague Series hero," has also returned from a fractured left wrist, prompting the manager to comment, "That was quick. I'm glad he's back during the interleague series. He'll be back tomorrow as well." With this newfound momentum, they are poised to climb straight up the standings. (Yasushi Yamaguchi)

〇…The legendary "Gorenger" has been revived. The comedy duo Oswald and Tom Brown threw first baseman pitch. Following the example of the performance given in 2004 by then-manager Shinjo and others, they appeared wearing masks. Coach Morimoto also participated as hitter, and first baseman pitch was over, but for the commemorative photo, Coach Morimoto, an original member, also wore a Gorenger mask. With all five members together, the "Gorenger" have been revived for the first time in about 22 years.

◆ Legendary "Goranger" performance on September 20, 2004 (Sapporo D) Nippon-Ham-Daiei game after a two-day strike due to the realignment of the baseball world. Shinjo appeared with Morimoto and others in a "Goranger" mask at the pre-game practice. In the 9th inning, with the game tied at 3 Nippon-Ham with 3 long and short hits, Shinjo hit a walk-off bases loaded ball to left center with 2 outs bases loaded and thought it was going to be a hit, but when he second base hugged first base runner and Sachi Tanaka, their bodies spun around. This was judged to have overtaken runner and was changed to "RBI 1 in single hit", a very unusual occurrence.