◆ Pacific League Rakuten Eagles Nippon-Ham (3rd, Rakuten Eagles Mobile Saikyo Park Miyagi)

Nippon-Ham 's catcher Yuya Gunji, who had been readjusting in the minor leagues due to poor performance, has been promoted to the first starting line-up. Starting as the "number 5 hitter and third baseman," he hit a clean single to left field in his first at-bat in the second inning.

Gunji said, "I wanted to get a result in my first at-bat, so I'm glad I went for it with all my might. I'm incredibly relieved." Regarding the content of his at-bat, he nodded and said, "I think my view of the ball was really good, and I have a great feeling about it, so I think it will carry over to tomorrow and beyond."

Manager Shinjo also predicted his future success, saying, "I thought he would hit, but I didn't expect him to hit right from the start. He had a good swing. He took his time with his timing and the bat came out without any tension, so we can expect great things from him in the future."