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

Rakuten Eagles announced on the 10th that manager Hajime Miki will be taking a leave of absence. The decision was made after discussions between the manager and the team, and head coach Tatsuya Shiokawa will take over as acting manager starting with that day's game The Giants. Acting manager Shiokawa spoke to the press before the game.

Acting manager Shiokawa stated his resolve, saying, "We have to accept the current results and do our best to allow the players to give it their all. We will keep moving forward and do our best."

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.

◆Tatsuya Shiokawa: Born March 15, 1983, in Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture. Age 43. Graduated from Kobe Kokusai University High School and Tohoku Fukushi University. Joined Rakuten Eagles in 2004 as the 5th pick in the draft. Played in a total of 263 games, with a batting average of .199, 1 Home Run, 13 RBI, and 16 stolen base. Retired from playing in 2011. Since 2018, has served as a coach for both the first and second teams. Last season, he served as the first team's infield defense base running coach, and this season he has been the head coach.