◆ Pacific League Nippon-Ham 0-8 Softbank Hawks (21st, ES CON FIELD)

Softbank Hawks 's Yu Maeda secured his fifth consecutive win of the season, remaining undefeated. With excellent tempo, he pitched a career-high seven innings, allowing only five hit and runs no walk just as he did in his previous start on the 13th. "I was able to win on Mother's Day and Father's Day, so I think I'm doing a good job of showing my gratitude to my parents," he said proudly.

The 20-year-old left-handed pitcher joined the team as the first overall pick in the 2023 draft from Osaka Toin High School. Last season, he earned his first professional win, and in his third year, he was promoted to the first team in May. He earned his first win in a game against Lotte on Mother's Day, May 10th (at Mizuho PayPay Dome), and has been a regular in the starting rotation for about a month since then.

His father, Takahiro, always sends him a message on LINE before each game saying, "Do your best as always." Although he is rather curt, saying, "I'm not the type to reply very often," he expressed his gratitude once again, saying, "He taught me a lot when I was in elementary school, and I think I got better at baseball thanks to my father."

"I was able to watch with peace of mind. I'm definitely climbing the stairs," praised Manager Kokubo for his pitch of 99 pitches. Still, the future ace candidate reflected, "I was in trouble in the 7th inning (with no outs and runner on second), so from now on, I want to work hard to pitch without any trouble." Aiming for the first complete game and first shutout game, they eagerly swing their arms. (Koichiro Shimao)