On May 29, in the first round of the "Nippon Life Central-Pacific League 2026" between Tohoku Rakuten Eagles and Tokyo Yakult held at Rakuten Eagles Mobile Saikyo Park Miyagi, Tohoku Rakuten Eagles suffered their fourth consecutive defeat in interleague games, losing 2-7.

Tohoku Rakuten Eagles 's starting pitcher was Takayuki Kishi pitcher. In the first inning, with one out and runners on first and third, he allowed the lead between infield and grounders, and in the top of the fourth, Soma Uchiyama hit his third two-run homer. Still, in the top of the fifth, the three batters repelled the opponent's attacks. In the top of the sixth, the second pitcher, Daichi Shibata pitcher, retired all three batters in order.

The lineup they wanted to support was in the bottom of the sixth. With consecutive hits by Itsuki Murabayashi and Naoki Sato, they created a good opportunity with runners on second and third and one out, then scored a run between McCuscar's infield grounders. However, in the top of the seventh inning, third pitcher Taisei Tsuruzaki pitcher gave up two runs with consecutive RBI singles with two outs and runners on first and second, bringing the score to 1-5.

In the top of the 7th, with two outs and runners on first and third, the mound pitcher came in and did not add any runs. The fourth pitcher, Shota Watanabe pitcher, retired the top of the 8th with three batters. However, in the top of the ninth, Kosei Koga pitcher gave up two RBI hits, narrowing the lead to six runs. In the bottom of the ninth, McCuscar hit his first solo homer, but three runners in the line were knocked out, and the game ended.

For the defeated Tohoku Rakuten Eagles, pitcher Kishi made his first start of the season, pitching 86 pitches hit 8 Walk 1 7 strike out 3 runs in 5 innings. Fourth pitcher pitcher Koga made his professional debut, but his debut was bittersweet, pitching two runs in one inning. The batting lineup saw McCuscar finally get his long-awaited first Home Run in Japan, but he failed to connect with 8 hit 2 runs.

123456789 Total
Ya 100200202 7
Raku 000001001 2


YA ○Taichi Yamano - Noboru Shimizu - Tomoya Hoshi - Yu Hirosawa
Raku ● Takayuki Kishi-Daichi Shibata- Taisei Tsuruzaki -Shota Watanabe-Kosei Koga

Text by Ao Yokoyama