Kenji Tomashino and Hiroki Nomura, who appeared on "Pro baseball News 2026" broadcast on Fuji TV ONE on the 4th, commented on Rakuten Eagles 's Kenta Maeda, who started in that day's game against Nippon-Ham and earned his second win of the season by giving up only one runs through the 9th inning.

Maeda closer Nippon-Ham lineup perfectly through three innings, and in the fourth inning, with the score 2-0, he allowed the first hit to leadoff Tatsuki Mizuno, who hit a single to left field, but then got Shun Mizutani to hit into a double play. After that, he continued to get hitter out with a low pitch count and closer runs until the eighth inning.

Aiming for his first complete shutout game since returning to NPB, he took mound in the 9th inning with the score 4-0, but gave up a run on infield grounder by pinch hitter Yuki Nomura and was taken out of the game. He threw 105 pitches over 8 2/3 innings, hit 5 hits, strike out 5, BB 0, and allowing 1 runs.

Regarding Maeda's pitch, Tomashino said, "I think the The Fighters lineup is part of it, but when it comes to not letting him focus on the target or let him get too intimidated, he uses a variety of pitches without wasting Walk. When he's carrying runner, he shows his splitter and highly precise slider, then precisely controls his shots and two seam fastball to make double plays. I think this was his second win in the style of Maeken's pitching. I think it was impressive," he praised highly.

Nomura also offered his support, saying, "There is baseball god. It means that he still has room to grow. I think he can definitely pitch shutout game and complete game, so I'm looking forward to seeing Maeda's fighting spirit. He's still going strong at 38 years old."

☆ Cooperation: Fuji TV ONE "Professional baseball News 2026"