◆Pacific League: Lotte vs. Rakuten Eagles (8th, ZOZO Marine)

Rakuten Eagles pitcher Kenta Maeda started the game against Lotte and left the mound after giving up 8 hits and 2 runs in 6 innings.

He took the mound as the starter aiming for his fifth win of the season. In the second inning, he faced a crisis with a runner on second and no outs, but he remained unfazed. He calmly retired the following batters and acted as a closer to ensure zero runs.

It was the third inning with both teams scoreless. They gave up a solo home run to the leadoff hitter, Inoue, to left field, conceding the opening run.

After that, he recorded outs at a good tempo, but it happened in the fifth inning with the score tied. After two outs, he gave up a triple to Tsuyoshi Yamazaki and then allowed a go-ahead RBI single to center by Fujiwara. He faced another crisis with the bases loaded and two outs, but he managed to get Sato struck out swinging.

If Kenta Maeda had earned his fifth win of the season in that game, it would have been his 170th combined victory in Japan and the United States, tying the records of Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hisashi Iwakuma.