◇Tohoku Rakuten Eagles vs. Chiba Lotte Marines, Game 16 (19th, Rakuten Eagles Mobile Saikyo Park Miyagi)

Tohoku Rakuten Eagles Kengo Horiuchi The team took the lead with a two-run homer by one of the players.

In the bottom of the 2nd inning, with the score still 0-0, with one out... YG Yasuda After a ten-pitch at-bat, the player got on base with doble, and with two outs, Kengo Horiuchi stepped up to the plate. He swung and missed at the first breaking ball, an off-speed pitch, but on the second pitch, he perfectly timed cutter that came in high on the plate, sending a confident hit into the right-field stands. It was his first Home Run of the season, giving his team an early lead.

In July, he played in 8 games with a monthly batting average of .111, and in August, he played in 5 games with a monthly batting average of .167 (as of before the game). Horiuchi had not been able to fully demonstrate his true potential with limited playing opportunities, but he hit his first home run in about a year, since August 6th of last season. Takayuki Kishi They provided pitcher with valuable run support.

◇Comment from Horiuchi
"I don't know what kind of pitch it was. I'm just glad I was able to hit it. It was a miracle." (Smiling)