楽(Raku)Report

vs. Chunichi Dragons, Series Loss 1-2

Game 1 - 6/10

The Eagles are now 0-3 in their 2025 Tohoku Series this season with game played in Iwate, Fukushima, and Yamagata (today) prefectures so far. They did finally score a run in one of these games when Itsuki Murabayashi homered in the bottom of the 6th inning today. Unfortunately, that was the only run that Rakuten would score and the Dragons answered with a 3-run 7th inning to secure the victory. 

Oscar Gonzalez made his debut in NPB and went 0-4 with 3 groundouts and a strikeout. He's in a really tough position joining the team mid-season without having an opportunity to adjust in spring camp and only a couple of ni-gun appearances under his belt. I don't have too many expectations for Gonzalez. He had a few great moments early in his MLB career, but has struggled in the last few seasons to find regular playing time in the big leagues. Gonzalez (27) relative youth certainly provides some upside, but by comparison, Maikel Franco (32) played numerous MLB seasons with solid production and we've seen how he's been struggling in Japan (age is definitely a negative factor for Franco). I don't see Gonzalez as a replacement for Franco. He doesn't have the track record in MLB and should be seen more as a talented player who could possibly develop into a productive player with continued experience and coaching. Or he could end up being Aristides Aquino II.

Game 2 - 6/11

It was a rough outing for Uchi who only went 3 innings and gave up 4 earned runs. The Eagles offense was suprisingly lively in this game despite falling behind early and unfortunately they were never able to come back from being down 7-0. Takayuki Kishi will take the mound tomorrow to try and avoid the sweep at home.

Game 3 - 6/12

Kishi was elite on the mound today, pitching 7 scorelss innings before turning things over to the bullpen to complete the combined shutout and avoid the sweep. Oscar Gonzalez recorded his first NPB hit and later his first NPB home run as the Eagles put together 4 runs on offense, plenty to win on the back of the excellent pitching.

Note, Takahiro Norimoto has returned as the Eagles closer, we'll see if he can return to form and maintain that role after his early season struggles.

vs. Hanshin Tigers, Series Win 3-0

Game 1 - 6/13

Spencer Howard had another very solid outing at home, holding the Tigers to just 2 runs in 5 innings. The hero in today's game was Atsuki Mutoh who delivered a 2-run triple with two outs in the 4th to take a 3-2 lead for the Eagles, enough to secure victory in this tightly contested game.

Game 2 - 6/14

A back-and-forth epic between the Eagles and Tigers went to 10 innings with plenty of excitement including Hanshin tying the game at 4 in the top of the 9th. Tsuyoshi Ishihara was the hero of the game for Rakuten, as he walked things off in the bottom of the 10th on a base-hit. The Eagles have taken the first two games against the Central League leading Tigers! They'll have a chance to go for the interleague series sweep tomorrow!

Game 3 - 6/15

A potential series sweep was on the line for the Eagles today and starting pitcher Masaru Fujii put the Ealges into a position to win with 6 innings of scoreless baseball. The game remained tied through 11 ⅓ innings until pinch hitter and backup infielder Fumiya Kurokawa scored the winning run from third on a base hit in the bottom of the 12th, just two outs away from the game ending as a tie. The Eagles have swept the Tigers at home and after two consecutive walkoff wins they will look to keep things rolling next week for two road series against the Yakult Swallows and Hiroshima Carp.

Notes

(6/15/25) Registered: P #26 Haruto Nakagomi中込 陽翔

De-registered: P #17 Tatsuki Koja 古謝 樹

(6/14/25) Registered: P #17 Tatsuki Koja 古謝 樹

De-registered: P #64 Yuki Hayashi 林 優樹

(6/12/25) Registered: P #11 Takayuki Kishi 岸 孝之, P #64 Yuki Hayashi 林 優樹, IF #24 Fumiya Kurokawa 黒川 史陽

De-registered: IF #23 Maikel Franco Ｍ. フランコ

(6/11/25) Registered: P #40 Masahiro Ehara 江原 雅裕

De-registered: P #56 Sora Suzuki 鈴木 翔天

(6/10/25) Registered: OF #12 Oscar Gonzalez ゴンザレス, OF #50 Atsuki Mutoh 武藤 敦貴

(6/9/25) De-registered: IF #4 Toshiki Abe 阿部 寿樹, OF #73 Kohtaro Komori 小森 航大郎

Box Score Source: NPB English

⅓ ⅔