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

Softbank Hawks pitcher Yugo Maeda (20) 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 first year out of high school in 1966. Despite the unfavorable conditions of continuous light rain and gaps in the game due to the opposing team's poor pitching, he gave up five runs in six innings. "With pitch like that today, the team won't get the momentum," he said, without a smile, expressing his regrets.

His tenacious pitching in pinch is the true essence of a man who never loses. He recorded his first multi-runs in eight games, but did not allow a single timely hit. The bases loaded with no outs in the fourth inning was held by two runs between a sacrifice fly and a infield grounder. In the sixth inning, with one out and runners on second and third, only one run was a infield grounder. Since giving up bases loaded home runs in the game against Mizuho PayPay on May 2 Nippon-Ham 4 (Mizuho PayPay), he has not allowed a RBI hit in eight consecutive games. Including two solo runs in this game, he did not allow any runner home runs.

The left-handed pitcher will celebrate his 21st birthday on the 4th. His consistent presence in the rotation even during the summer is a testament to his strong self-discipline. A team official was impressed, saying, "He's just like Shohei Ohtani. It's amazing that at 20 years old, he can see things through on his own without being forced." He doesn't like eating out and has the strong will to decline invitations to meals from his seniors, prioritizing his health.

He is just one win behind Nippon-Ham 's Kato Takashi, who leads the league in win, 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 a third consecutive league championship could be lit as early as the 5th. (Koichiro Shimao)