◆Nippon Life Interleague Series 2026 Rakuten Eagles vs. The Giants (10th, Rakuten Eagles Mobile is the strongest)

　楽天は１０日、三木肇監督の休養を発表した。監督との双方協議により休養が決まり、同日の巨人戦から塩川達也ヘッドコーチが監督代行として指揮を執る。　楽天の森井誠之球団社長が同日、同戦の試合前に取材対応。「三木監督とお話させていただき、休養を決断しました。球団に残してくれた功績は計り知れない。（勝敗の）数字で決めていたわけではない。残り８５試合、まだ諦めない」と一連の監督人事について説明した。

The team has played 58 games so far, with a record of 21 wins, 36 losses, and 1 tie. They have been struggling since the start of interleague play, with a record of 2 wins and 10 losses. In the game The Giants on the 9th (Rakuten Eagles Mobile's strongest team), they were completely defeated, lacking sharpness in both pitching and hitting. They suffered their fourth consecutive loss, putting them at their worst deficit of the season at 15 games below .500.

They are 14.5 games behind league leaders Seibu Lions, and their chances of winning the championship on their own could be eliminated as early as the 10th. They are in a difficult situation, sitting at the bottom of the league, 7 games behind fifth-place Lotte. On the 4th, they suffered a crushing comeback loss against DeNA (Yokohama) after being down by 7 runs, and although they had taken measures to improve the situation, such as changing pitcher coach's position on the 5th, they have now taken an even more drastic measure.

Manager Miki has followed an unusual career path, serving as the first-team manager once every 20 years, then managing the second team, and finally returning to the first team. However, in his second year back with the first team, he was unable to achieve the results he had hoped for.