On June 12th at 6:00 PM, the first round of the 'Nippon Life Central League Interleague 2026' will be held at Rakuten Eagles Mobile Saikyo Park Miyagi, featuring Tohoku Rakuten Eagles and Hiroshima.

[Last Season's Head-to-Head Record] Tohoku Rakuten Eagles vs. Hiroshima 1 win, 2 losses

[Announced Starting Lineup]
Tohoku Rakuten Eagles: Takayuki Kishi pitcher 2 games, 0 wins, 2 losses, ERA 4.50
Hiroshima: Shogo Tamamura pitcher 5 games, 1 win, 1 loss, ERA 1.74

The last interleague game of the season held at home will be a three-game series against Hiroshima. Tohoku Rakuten Eagles has lost to Hiroshima for the second consecutive year. To shake off my fear of being uncomfortable, I want to win the first match first.

​Takayuki Kishi pitcher, the announced starter, has been on a four-game losing streak since last September. This season, he was promoted to the first team during interleague play, but in the Tokyo Yakult game, he pitched 5 innings, 8 hit, 3 runs, and in his last Hanshin Tigers appearance, he pitched 5 innings, 3 hit, 5 walks, Hit by Pitch 2 runs, finishing lose pitcher in both. This was the first time against Hiroshima was on June 9, 2022, when they won with a scoreless runs in seven innings. Including the carp batting lineup, can they closer their first win of the season?

Meanwhile, the Tohoku Rakuten Eagles lineup faced Hiroshima's Shogo Tamamura pitcher for the first time since June 15, 2024. Although he conceded a win to pitcher Tamamura, he scored three runs with three consecutive hits from Hideto Asamura, Yoshiaki Watanabe, and Hikaru Ota. I want to break down my good left-handed arm with a swooping attack.

Text by Ayako Kikuchi