◇ Hokkaido Nippon-Ham vs Tohoku Rakuten Eagles 25th Round (24th, ES CON FIELD)

​Kenta Maeda pitcher of the Tohoku Rakuten Eagles recorded his first complete game shutout game win since returning to NPB.

With two outs in the first inning, Yuki Nomura player line drive was hit directly on his right arm. Despite the accident, he remained unfazed and continued to pitch in a way that kept opposing lineups at bay. His control was also good, with three consecutive struck out in the bottom of the third. He kept hitting outs at a fast pace.

The lineup took the lead with four runs in the top of the eighth inning, and Ken Maeda pitcher closer retired all three batters in order in the bottom of the eighth, the mound in the bottom of the ninth. Although he reached base with one out and infield hit, he retired the next batters with grounders to shortstop and to shortstop to close out the game.

Ken Maeda pitcher his first shutout game win since returning to NPB with 116 pitches, 2 hit no walks, Hit by Pitch 9 strike out in 9 innings. He earned his fifth win of the season and his 170th combined Japan-U.S. win, marking his first NPB complete game in 11 years and shutout game win in 12 years since 2014.

Text by Minagi Niwa