◇ Tohoku Rakuten Eagles vs Orix Buffaloes 17th Round (12th, Rakuten Eagles Mobile)

Tohoku Rakuten Eagles Kenta Maeda pitcher became the 145th player in history to reach 100 NPB wins.

In the top of the third, pitcher Maeda gave up his first hit doble to Orix Buffaloes and Tomoya Noguchi with two outs, but swung struck out Yusuke Mugitani in the following game. He showed a strong start, runs the early three inning.

However, in the top of the fourth, with one out and a runner on first, Kotaro Kobayashi gave up a two-run homer to take the lead. Although there was a rain interruption, no additional runs were allowed in the middle of the game. In the top of the sixth, Ryoto Kita reached base with a hit and finished off with a perfect play. Responding to this powerful pitching, the team's offense took the lead in the bottom of the sixth with hitter nine batters and five runs on a fierce offensive.

In the top of the seventh inning, leading by three runs, he retired Noguchi at double play with one out and a runner on first, then clenched his fist and let out a roar. He threw 103 pitches over seven innings, allowing 7 hit, 1 BB, and 4 strike out runs to deliver a powerful pitch to secure a milestone win. Notably, he has recorded a total of 68 wins in MLB, leaving 32 wins shy of 200 wins in the Japan-U.S. total.

◇ Records of pitcher win Maeda
First win June 18, 2008 Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fight

Text by Ayako Kikuchi