◆Nippon Life Central-Pacific Interleague Series 2026 Hanshin Tigers 10–3 Rakuten Eagles (17th · Koshien)

The Nippon Life Interleague Series concluded on the 17th with Hanshin Tigers defeating Rakuten Eagles. Seibu Lions has already claimed its first championship, and the Pacific League has a record of 26 wins, 65 losses, 39 losses, and 4 ties, marking its 18th time in four consecutive years. Hasegawa (Seibu Lions) is the league's leading hitter with a .367 batting average, while Kurihara (Softbank Hawks) leads with 7 Home Run. Among pitcher, Kitayama (Nippon-Ham), Otsu (Softbank Hawks), and Takahashi (Hanshin Tigers) all recorded three wins in three games. Interleague play between the Central and Pacific Leagues will resume on the 19th.

Rakuten Eagles lost to Hanshin Tigers, finishing the interleague series in last place with a 4-14 record. Kenta Maeda, who was hoping for his first win in 3911 days in NPB, gave up 4 hit 2 runs in 5 innings. In his sixth start of the season, he was unable to win and suffered his third loss.

In the second inning, with no outs and a runner on first, Oyama hit a curveball that was left up in the zone into the left-field stands, giving the opposing team the lead. He stood there in a daze, as seen at mound. “It wasn’t so much a bad pitch as it was a wasted opportunity.“I had already strike, so I should have thrown a little more aggressively,” he said, regretting that fateful pitch. Still, he mixed in splitter, slider, and sinker with his fastball, which topped out at 151 km/h, and managed to get out of the inning without further runs.

Acting manager Shiokawa, who took charge in place of manager Miki who had been on leave since the 10th, will return to his position as head coach after finishing with a 2-4 record following the appointment of new manager Yoshii. "I will continue to be responsible for getting the team together. I think I will need to focus on my role as a mediator," he said, emphasizing his supportive role. (Masahiro Okano)