On September 10, the 20th game between Chiba Lotte Marines and Tohoku Rakuten at Zozo Marine Stadium ended in a 6-1 win for Chiba Lotte Marines.

In the bottom of the 2nd inning, with runners on 1st and 2nd and no outs, Naonori Yasuda and Tsuyoshi Yamasaki hit consecutive RBI singles, followed by a 2-run RBI doble from Koki Yamaguchi with two outs and runners on 2nd and 3rd, giving Chiba Lotte Marines a 4-run lead.

Starting pitcher Shuta Takano escaped without allowing runs through the first 3 innings despite allowing a runner in every inning. Although he gave up a run on a solo home run (his 6th) to YG Yasuda in the top of the 4th, he delivered perfect pitching from the 5th inning onwards. He left the mound after 7 innings, 101 pitches, 6 hits, 0 Walk, 0 Hit by Pitch, 6 strike out, and 1 runs.

In the bottom of the 7th, Toshiya Sato added 2 runs with his 17th 2-run home run. Naoya Masuda pitched a scoreless top of the 8th, and Koshiro Sakamoto followed with a scoreless top of the 9th to end the game 6-1. Shuta Takano marked his second consecutive win since converting to a starter. The lineup rallied for a total of 10 hits and 6 runs, and with pitching and hitting in sync, the team secured their 4th consecutive victory.

The losing pitcher, Rakuten Eagles starter Takayuki Kishi, pitched 7 innings, 118 pitches, 9 hits, 1 Walk, 6 strike out, and 6 runs (3 earned runs). The lineup lacked a decisive hit, totaling 7 hits and 1 run, resulting in their 6th consecutive loss.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Total
E 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
M 0 4 0 0 0 0 2 0 X 6

E ●Takayuki Kishi-Daichi Shibata
M ○Shuta Takano-Naoya Masuda-Koshiro Sakamoto

Text by Aoi Nemoto