◇ Chiba Lotte vs. Hokkaido Nippon-Ham 2nd Round (16th, Zozo Marine Stadium)

Chiba Lotte 's Daito Yamamoto hit his first professional home run.

He started at No. 6 and left fielder. In the bottom of the sixth inning with both teams scoreless, with one out and runners on first and second base, he entered his third at-bat and hit the first pitch Toshihiro Sugiura pitcher threw, a cutter with a low outside angle, with a slight swim. The batted ball soared high to left field and landed in the left field stands. The long-awaited shot scored three runs in the first inning.

Yamamoto was the third pick in the 2020 development draft and joined Chiba Lotte from Kaisei High School. Last season, he won 19 Home Run and 66 RBI Eastern League doubles in the second army, but batted .111 in five games with the first team. This season, he batted .365 with a 5 Home Run 21 RBI batting average in 16 games for the second team before being promoted to the first team on the 12th. He recorded his first professional RBI in the previous match and has lived up to expectations with Home Run in this match.

◇Yamamoto's Comment
"I think it was cutter who batted, and (Tanaka) Haruya had a good pitch, and I told Haruya before I went to bat that I would definitely hit him. I didn't want to waste the opportunities that everyone created, so I'm glad I was able to hit the home run as a result of swinging hard from the first pitch."

◇ Daito Yamamoto Player's first record
First appearance: 30 September 2022 against Orix
First hit May 24, 2023 against Saitama Seibu
First RBI 15 April 2025 Hokkaido Nippon-Ham
First Home Run 16 April 2025 Hokkaido Nippon-Ham

・ Match details/video
・ Daito Yamamoto Player Profile