On June 9th at 6 PM, the first game of the "Nippon Life Interleague Series 2026" between Tohoku Rakuten and Rakuten Eagles The Giants will be held at Rakuten Eagles Mobile Saikyo Park Miyagi.

[Last season's head-to-head record] Tohoku Rakuten Eagles vs. The Giants: 1 win, 2 losses

[Announced Starting Pitcher]
Tohoku Rakuten Eagles: Kosei Shoji pitcher 10 games, 4 wins, 5 losses, 3.48 ERA
The Giants: Takahiro Norimoto pitcher 7 games, 1 win, 3 losses, ERA 4.08

Tohoku Rakuten Eagles, Kosei Shoji pitcher will take mound as the starter. He is currently on a three-game losing streak and is going through a tough time, but in the two interleague games, he pitched a total of 13 inning, allowing only 4 runs (3 earned runs), ERA of 2.08. In addition, he has shown consistent pitch strike out far this season with 68. He will be looking to lead the team to a break in their losing streak with his tenacious pitching.

The batting lineup is, Hideto Asamura Expectations are high for the player. He is the same age as opposing starting pitcher Takahiro Norimoto, and together they led the team as pitcher captain and fielder captain during the 2024 season when pitcher was with Tohoku Rakuten Eagles. Can he break the bad streak and get a good hit off his close friend?