On June 4 at 6:00 p.m., Yokohama DeNA vs. Tohoku Yokohama Stadium will be the third game of the "Nippon Seimei Central Japan-Pakistan Exchange Games 2026" between Yokohama DeNA and Tohoku Rakuten Eagles.

Yokohama DeNA (Central League, 4th) vs Tohoku Rakuten Eagles (Pacific League, 6th) 0-2

[advance notice
Yokohama DeNA: Katsuki Higashi pitcher 5-3 in 9 starts, ERA 1.68 (2nd in C)
Northeast Rakuten Eagles: Ryota Takinaka pitcher 2-2 in 7 games, ERA 1.56

　Ryota Takinaka pitcher pitched his second interleague game of the season. Last week, he faced Chunichi and pitched 6 innings, striking out 4 hit no walks Hit by Pitch no runs and 8 struck out, his most of the season.

He is on a three-game losing streak himself in his fourth appearance against Yokohama DeNA in two consecutive years. Yokohama Stadium In 2022, he was hit by a pitch against Toshiro Miyazaki and Shugo Maki in an exchange game in which he pitched 3 innings 5 runs. In 2023, when he pitched against Katsuki Azuma pitcher, he pitched 2.1 innings 5 runs (earned runs 4), getting off mound in the early stages of the game. Last year, although he suffered a black star due to lack of support from the batting lineup, he made a game of it with 3 runs (earned runs 2) in the middle of the 7th inning.

Takinaka has achieved QS three times out of seven appearances so far this season. pitcher Will he be able to get the long-awaited white star from Yokohama DeNA this year?

Text by Ayako Kikuchi