楽(Raku)Report

@ Lotte Marines, Series Tie 1-1

Game 1 - 5/5

The Eagles kicked off this Children's Day Monday holiday game against the Marines by sending Kosei Shoji to the mound for his first appearance of the season. Shoji, the Eagles 1st round draft pick in 2022, returned to the 1st team and threw 79 pitches across 4 and 2/3 innings, giving up just one run on 3 hits with 4 walks and 3 strikeouts. It wasn't a dominant performance by any means, but it was good to see Shoji's fastball around the 150 km/h (93 mph) range after his right elbow surgery last fall. Rakuten got on the board first when Daisuke Nakashima singled, stole 2nd, and Rui Muneyama drove him in on a base hit to left. Lotte answered back in the fourth when Akito Takabe grounded into a run-scoring double play to tie the game at 1. In the top of the 6th, Hiroto Kobukata walked with one out and then went from first to third base following an errant throw on a stolen base attempt. Hideto Asamura then hit a grounder to short and Kobukata slid in under the throw home to take the lead for the Eagles 2-1.

Rakuten's bullpen locked things down from there with relievers Kaijya(R)-->Norimoto(R)-->Nishiguchi(R)-->Sora Suzuki(L). It will be interesting to see if Suzuki will be the closer moving forward after Norimoto and subsequently Shoma Fujihira (who is now on the farm team) were removed from that role. Another excellent relief performance and an all-around solid victory to start the road series. Tatsuki Koja gets the nod from Manager Hajime Miki for tomorrow's start, another day game in Chiba.

Game 2 - 5/6 🌧️

Rainout.

Game 3 - 5/7

The Eagles dropped today's game against the Marines to even out the series at a game apiece after the rainout yesterday. Despite the final score, 7-3 in favor of the home team, I actually didn't feel particularly bad about this loss. Rakuten got off to a tough start with Fujii giving up 4 runs in the three innings that he pitched, but the offense was able to manufacture a run in the 2nd inning and Hideto Asamura came within a few feet of taking the lead on a grand-slam when he flied out to center with 2 outs and the bases loaded. The 5th inning was really the highlight for Eagles fans as Maikel Franco, Itsuki Murabayashi, and Yuya Itoh all doubled to cut the lead down to one run. Masaya Nishigaki pitched the 6th for the Eagles and quickly gave up 3 runs on a couple of hits and a home run that put this game out of reach for Rakuten. 

Ultimately, I can live with losses like this one. Masaru Fujii struggled in his start, giving up runs in the 1st as all Eagles pitches seem to do, and the bullpen wasn't able to keep the game close, but the offense seemed far more capable of getting runners on base and across the plate compared to recent efforts. It was especially encouraging to see Maikel Franco go 2/3 with a double and a walk, Manager Hajime Miki is giving him an opportunity this season so I hope he can keep hitting like he did today. There is an off day tomorrow as the team travels north to Sapporo to face the Nippon Ham Fighters in a 3 game weekend series at Es Con Field.

@ Nippon Ham, Series Loss 3-0

Game 1 - 5/9

This. This game right here exemplifies the Rakuten Eagles 2025 season so far. The starter struggles (103 pitches in 4 ⅓  innings), but miraculously holds the opponents to just 2 runs. The bullpen keeps the game within reach through 3 ⅔  of solid relief. The offense scores just 1 run on 7 hits and no one is able to drive in the game tying run in the 9th with runners on 2nd and 3rd and NO ONE OUT!

At least Hideto Asamura was able to finally get a hit after 35 hitless at bats. Rakuten is simply the team of eternal frustration this season. It really seems like all of the pieces are there, they just aren't doing when they need to do. Tatsumi (back from the farm) and Ogoh still look dazed at the plate and in the field, as if they're in a nightmare that they can't wake up from. While trying to shield my eyes from the Eagles performance today I briefly checked in on the YouTube broadcast of the Fukushima Red Hopes game in the Baseball Challenge League (BCL) and they were up 12-2 in the 3rd inning, maybe I should start covering them. Rakuten will face Takayuki Katoh tomorrow, he's given up just 5 earned runs in 5 starts this season. That is 1 run per start which should suit the Eagles offense perfectly.

Game 2 - 5/10

What a game this was! After a weeklong scoring drought by the Eagles, they broke out today, battled back-and-forth with the Fighters, but ultimately came up short in a "Roosevelt Game" that ended 8-7 in favor of Nippon Ham. Uncharacteristically for Rakuten, it was the pitchers, rather than a lack of offense, that cost them the game today. Starter Tatsuki Koja went just 3 innings giving up 3 runs on 4 hits (4K, 2BB). In retrospect, it seems like an odd move that Manager Hajime Miki pulled Koja after the 3rd when he had only thrown 51 pitches. To be fair though, the score was 3-0 through 3 and Koja was far from dominant. There were also shots of the TV broadcast of Koja rubbing his arm in the dugout so it's possible that he tweaked something. 

Regardless, the Eagles unloaded in the 4th inning for 6 runs with RBI hits from Maikel Franco and Kengo Horiuchi and a grand slam from Itsuki Murabayashi (.342/.373/.418, who is this guy!?). Tomotaka Matsui came in to pitch the 4th and 5th for Rakuten and could not locate his pitches. He gave up a run in the 4th and a grand slam to Chusei Mannami in the 5th that made it 8-6 Nippon Ham. Matsui threw 61 pitches over the two inning he worked. It was another odd move for Miki to keep him in the game after loading up the bases in the 5th, considering that he had arms available in the bullpen. Hiroto Kobukata drove in a run in the top of the 6th to make it a one run game and with the baes loaded and one out in the top of the 9th the Eagles Franco and Daichi Suzuki both popped out to end the game, stranding the tying and go-ahead runners on base. Rakuten will look to avoid a series sweep on Sunday with Takayuki Kishi on the mound.

Game 3 - 5/11

The Eagles were shut out today in a 98 pitch complete game by Ruei-Yang Gu Lin. Gu Lin had a perfect game going through 5 ⅔ innings, broken up by a base hit by Hiroto Kobukata in the 6th, one of just 2 hits for the Rakuten. It was a truly impressive outing for the former CPBL MVP from Taiwan who ended the game with 7K and no walks. Takayuki Kishi, on the other hand, lost the game for Rakuten on the first pitch to Kengo Yoshida, who hit a home run. Same story as most games this season though, it wouldn't matter if that was the only run Kishi gave up all game, the Eagles weren't able to produce anything. It really feels like the wheels are starting to fall off here. Losing has become a consistent trend for this team and they are not losing close fought games either, they are not even competitive. They will need to somehow find a way to turn things around next week against the Marines.

Notes

(5/9/25) Called up: OF #8 Ryosuke Tatsumi 辰己 涼介

(5/8/25) Sent to the farm: OF #25 Kazuki Tanaka 田中 和基 

(5/5/25) Called up: P #19 Kosei Shoji 荘司 康誠, P #31 Shota Watanabe 渡辺 翔太

Sent to the farm: P #21 Takahisa Hayakawa 早川 隆久

Box Score Source: NPB English