◇ Hokkaido Nippon-Ham vs. Tohoku Rakuten Eagles, Game 4 (21st, ES CON FIELD)

Tohoku Rakuten Eagles Kosei Shoji pitcher recorded his first ever double-digit strike out.

This season, pitcher Shoji, who is making his first-ever opening day pitcher, is on a roll with three wins and no losses. In the first inning, he gave up hit with two outs, but remained unfazed and got the next batter to ground out to third base. In the bottom of the second inning, he retired the side in order, including two consecutive struck out. He gave up runs in the bottom of the third and fourth innings, but recorded strike out in every inning until the fifth.

In the bottom of the 6th inning, pitcher Shoji showed good tempo by shutting down the opposing team's attack with just 10 pitches. In the bottom of the 7th inning, with two outs, his pitch count exceeded 100 during Kotaro Kiyomiya 's at-bat, but he ultimately struck struck out swinging with breaking ball. He recorded a quality start with 7 innings pitched, 105 pitches, 8 hit 1 Hit by Pitch 10 strike out 3 runs, before leaving mound.

Written by Ao Yokoyama