◆Nippon Life Interleague Series 2026: Hiroshima vs. Nippon-Ham (June 16th, Mazda Stadium)

Nippon-Ham 's pitcher Kota Tatsu made his first professional relief appearance in the 7th inning with the score 1-0.

He struck out swinging and missing Katsuta, who led off with a 154 km/h fastball. He retired Omori with a fly out to center, and Nahara missed the ball with a 155 km/h fastball to struck out. With a stunning pitch, all three players retired in order closer. Coach Shinjo expressed his joy by holding out both hands on the bench.

This season, he made the opening day rotation but failed to produce results, going 2-6 with ERA of 4.06 in 9 games, and was removed from the roster on May 30th. He adjusted as reliever in the minor leagues, making 3 relief appearances with ERA of 0.00. Before the game, manager Shinjo said, "It's important for Tatsu-kun to gain experience as reliever pitcher and to keep practicing, so it's good for him to get various experiences at this time. If he throws some great pitches, I think that feeling will probably stick in his head when he returns to being a starter, so I hope he can grasp that feeling."

For Nippon-Ham to achieve a dramatic comeback and win the interleague series for the first time in 19 years, Seibu Lions would need to lose to Hanshin Tigers and then win by a margin of 5 runs or more.