◇ Tohoku Rakuten Eagles vs Saitama Seibu Lions Game 11 (25th, Rakuten Eagles Mobile Saikyo Park Miyagi)

Saitama Seibu Lions 's Natsuki Takeuchi pitcher pitched an impressive 8 innings, throwing 95 pitches, 7 hit no walks Hit by Pitch 5 strike out 2 runs.

pitcher Takeuchi mound after 8 days of rest. In the first inning, he retired all three batters in order after just six pitches, delivering a stunning start. However, in the bottom of the second, a series of hits put runners on second and third with no outs, and they gave up the sacrifice fly to score the first run. With one out and runners on second, he gave up a timely hit to Daisuke Nakashima, making the inning runs 2.

Even so, from the third inning onward, despite allowing three consecutive inning hit, they scored double play at key moments and did not add any runs. He retired all three batters in order in the bottom of the sixth, and in the bottom of the seventh, he gave in a pitch to score, making it runs. In the bottom of the eighth inning, where he continued on, he gave it his all by scoring two struck out.

With this, pitcher Takeuchi recorded his first complete game since the Chiba Lotte Marines fight on September 16, 2024. Their fifth consecutive match of QS and a consistent pitch shone brightly. The game ended in a shutout game loss, 0-2, without any support from the lineup. The team suffered three consecutive losses in the same matchup.

Text by Ao Yokoyama