◆Nippon Life Interleague Series 2026 Rakuten Eagles vs. Hiroshima (June 12th, Rakuten Eagles Mobile Saikyo Park Miyagi)

Rakuten Eagles pitcher Kenta Maeda (38) rejoined the first team on the 12th. This season marks his return to NPB after 11 years, and so far he has appeared in 5 games for the first team, with a record of 0 wins and 2 losses and ERA of 4.82. He started the game against Nippon-Ham on May 20th (at Escon Stadium), but was pulled in the middle of the 3rd inning after giving up 4 hit, 3 Walk, and 2 runs. His first win since joining the team was put on hold, and he was removed from the active roster on May 21st.

After joining the farm team, he made a strong case for a recall. On May 31, he started against the Chunichi in the Farm League, pitching 4 hit 3 runs through 7 innings. Furthermore, on June 6, against the Seibu Lions in the same league, he pitched 7 hit 0 runs innings, allowing 7 strike out hits.