◇ Chiba Lotte Marines vs. Yokohama DeNA 'Nippon Life Central and Pacific League Interleague 2026' Round 3 (14th, Zozo Marine Stadium)

Chiba Lotte Marines Soto hit his seventh solo homer.

He started as the fourth batter first baseman. In the bottom of the second inning, with neither team scoring a run, he came to bat as the leadoff hitter and caught the sixth pitch, a high fastball, thrown by the opposing starter Shuto Ogata pitcher. The high-flying ball landed on the left field home run for the go-ahead solo home run of the 7th. He hit his first home run in two games.

Soto had posted strong numbers in 17 interleague games, hitting .283 with a .283 batting average, 2 Home Run 11 RBI, and an OPS of .914 (pre-game). Aiming for a second consecutive series with a winning lead, the captain's strike gave him the first run.

◇ Comment from Soto
"I hit it hard. Good pitcher, so when a sweet pitch came in, I planned to go aggressive. I was able to accurately judge the ball, and I was able to hit it in good shape, which was great for me to home run."

Text by Mao Tsutsui