◆ Pacific League Rakuten Eagles Softbank Hawks (August 2nd, Rakuten Eagles Mobile Saikyo Park Miyagi)

Softbank Hawks 's Yu Maeda has achieved an undefeated ninth consecutive win since the start of the season. This is the first time in 60 years that a player has achieved this feat within three years of graduating from high school, since Tsuneo Horiuchi (The Giants) won 13 consecutive games in his rookie year in 1966. Despite the continuous light rain and the opposing battery's erratic pitching, he did not lose his concentration. "With pitch like today's, the team won't get the momentum. There's a lot to reflect on from this pitch," he said, showing no smile after giving up five runs in six innings, but he did not allow a timely hit for the eighth consecutive game.

The left-handed pitcher, who will celebrate his 21st birthday on the 4th, is just one win behind league win Takashi Kato, and is now within striking distance of winning both the Rookie of the Year award and the league title. The team started the second half of the season on a winning streak, becoming the first in both leagues to reach 60 wins. The magic number for winning the league title for the third consecutive year could be lit as early as the 5th.