◇ Chiba Lotte Marines vs. Yokohama DeNA: "Nippon Life Interleague Series 2026" Game 2 (May 13th, Zozo Marine Stadium)

Chiba Lotte Marines 's Soto has achieved the milestone of playing in 1000 games, becoming the 545th player in NPB history to do so.

In a game against starting line-up team, Yokohama DeNA, Soto, starting as the cleanup hitter and DH, ignited a comeback in the bottom of the 4th inning when his team was trailing 0-15. As the leadoff hitter, he hit a high fastball to left field to get on base. After that, consecutive RBI hits from Kyuto Ueda and Aito brought in 3 runs, and in the bottom of the 5th inning, Misho Nishikawa hit his 6th home run of the season, a two-run shot.

Soto has been appointed captain this season. He started his NPB career with Yokohama DeNA in 2018, and from there he won Home Run title and Best Nine award for two consecutive years. In 2019 he also achieved a double crown by winning RBI title, leading a lineup full of hitter.

In his third year with Chiba Lotte Marines, this season has been full of records for him, including his 200th Home Run (the 116th in history) in the game against The Giants on the 5th, and Home Run all 12 teams (the 50th in history) in the game against Yokohama DeNA on the 12th.

◇Soto's first record
First appearance in NPB: May 6, 2018, against The Giants

Written by Ao Yokoyama