Pacific League: Orix Buffaloes 0-2 Softbank Hawks (28th, Kyocera Dome Osaka)

With a presence and composure unlike a 21-year-old, he advanced down the road to victory. Softbank Hawks pitcher Yugo Maeda (21) secured a win that tied him for the league lead, maintaining an undefeated 11-game winning streak since the start of the season. In the 7th inning, right after his teammates failed to capitalize on a no-out, runner-on-third situation, he flipped a switch. "Thinking the momentum might shift to the opponent, I focused. I changed how I applied power compared to the first through sixth innings," he said. He finished the inning by retiring three batters in order, completing 7 innings with 103 pitches, 4 hits, and 0 runs. He successfully protected the two-run lead from the first inning.

He read the key moments himself and shifted gears. Although this is his third year and his first season as a regular on the first-team roster, he spoke confidently, saying, "I have experiences I've gained. I believe they are paying off." Manager Kokubo also first praised his pitch in the seventh inning, revealing, "Every pitch was at max effort. Because he went at such a maximum level, I replaced him after the seventh." Praising him highly, including his ability to be conscious of the game's flow, he said, "He has a good baseball brain. He's only in his third year, but he has the presence of a mainstay player." Regarding the win that brought the magic number for the championship down to 20, he stated decisively, "Today was all about Yugo."

"My fastball was moving well, so I was able to keep attacking," said Yu Maeda. From the second inning onwards, he held the opposition to one hit and did not allow a runner to reach second base. Although he faced a two-out bases loaded situation in the first inning, it was triggered by a failure to handle Kita's pitcher infield hit with two outs. Unable to secure the ball in his backhand glove, he demanded a higher standard of himself, saying, "I have practiced that quite a bit. It means I am still not there yet. I must not show any openings in those aspects."

With seven days rest between starts, he increased his core-focused training. "I feel that my fundamental muscle strength is connected to pitch," he said. The left-handed pitcher, originally from Shiga Prefecture and honed at Osaka Toin High School, expressed his gratitude for his first win at Kyocera Dome, saying, "There are people who have been supporting me all this time, and that gives me strength." His unstoppable momentum is now a testament to his skill. (Ryo Ando)

Yuu Maeda (SoftBank) won his 11th consecutive game from the start of the season. He is the 16th player (18th time) to achieve 11 straight wins from the season opener since Tomoyuki Sugano (Giants) in 2020. Among left-handers, he is the 6th to do so since Yuta Kawai (Chunichi) won 11 straight in 2009. Within the franchise, he is the 5th player to win 11 or more consecutive games from the start of the season since Kazumi Saito's 15-game streak in 2005.

His 11 consecutive wins from the start of the season at 21 years and 0 months old is the second youngest such feat, following Tsuneo Horiuchi (Giants), who had 13 consecutive wins from the start of the season at 18 years and 6 months old.