◇Tohoku Rakuten Eagles vs Tokyo Yakult "Nippon Life Central and Pacific League Interleague 2026" First Round (29th, Rakuten Eagles Mobile Saikyo Park Miyagi)

Tohoku Rakuten Eagles Daichi Shibata pitcher faced their former club Tokyo Yakult for the first time. He delivered a strong relief performance by closer the first inning out of all three batters in order.

In the top of the sixth inning, trailing by three runs, Shibata pitcher moved up to mound as the second pitcher. Against leadoff player Yukihiro Iwata, he hit a high fastball and scored three struck out pitches. In this match, facing the rookie first-round pick Fumika Matsushita, who recorded his first professional hit in this game, he started with a full count fastball flying out to center. In the end, he retired Tadashi Masuda with a single pitch, creating the rhythm of the attack with a inning of three retired batters for the first time in the match.

The batting lineup created a good opportunity with one out, runners on second and third, and a series of long-short hits by Itsuki Murabayashi and Naoki Sato in the back. infield Scored a run between the ground balls.

In 2024, Shibata pitcher transferred from Tokyo Yakult in the active draft and entered his second year with Tohoku Rakuten Eagles. This season, he has pitched in 11 games so far, recording a ERA 1.04 ERA and shining at key moments.

Text by Ao Yokoyama