![\"Kenta](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/20260331-OHT1I51277-L.jpg\")
<\/p>\n[Rakuten Eagles] Kenta Maeda makes his first appearance in Japanese baseball in 3828 days, but is pulled after 5 innings having given up 2 runs. He reaches 2500 innings pitched pitched in his combined career in Japan and the US, but his first win remains elusive.<\/p>\n
Sports Hochi<\/p>\n
March 31, 2026 17:40<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u25c6 Pacific League Rakuten Eagles vs. Softbank Hawks (31st, Rakuten Eagles Mobile)<\/p>\n
Rakuten Eagles Kenta Maeda pitcher (37) started the home opener against on October 31. He went up for the first time in 3828 days in Japanese baseball since October 7, 2003, when he was with Hiroshima (Mazda) and gave up 5 2 in 4 0\/3 innings, giving up 5 and requiring 83 pitches. Softbank Hawks mound Chunichi hit runs Walk<\/p>\n
If he wins, it will be the first “return match” in Japan since the Chunichi match (Mazda) on October 2 of the same year, and it will be the first white star in Japan in 3833 days. It had been raining in Sendai since the morning that day, but it was stopped at the start of the game at 4:01 p.m. The first time was a three-way retirement. In the second inning, he allowed a left-handed hit to No. 4 Yanagida in the lead, and carried the runner for the first time. Yamakawa was Walk and Kurihara was hit by a right-handed hit and was bases loaded unbeaten. However, I persevered. No. 7, Nomura’s three straights flew in front of fielder, and third base runner Yanagida couldn’t return. Lucky double play with 2 outs, 1st and 2nd base, Umino was slashed with a struck out and did not score. Ken Maeda let out a loud roar and expressed his emotions.<\/p>\n
The third inning immediately after receiving one run of support. From the first out, Shuto hit in the middle, Kondo Walk to first and second base, and again carried runner in scoring position. No. 3 Yanagimachi took a swing struck out in slider and made it 2 outs, but Yanagida caught a 147 km fastball and hit a timely hit to the right. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to play against Gita, so I’m happy to be able to play in the first team. There are still a few classmates left, but I want to do our best for each other,” he said to his rival, who was beaten in a serious match for the first time since the exchange match in 13.<\/p>\n
In the 4th inning, from bases loaded with one out, he presented the winning left sacrifice fly to Shuto. Here, he became the seventh person in history to reach 2500 innings pitched in Japan-U.S., but it was a frustrating moment to achieve the record. He continued to pitch in the 5th inning, but left the mound with a fastball Walk to Yanagimachi in the lead.<\/p>\n
He had a 0-0 record with a 3.18 ERA in three exhibition games. In the game Seibu Lions on the 17th of this month (at Belluna Dome), he delivered a masterful pitch strike out six innings, allowing only one hit and no runs while striking out six. In a minor league game on the 24th where he made a tune-up appearance, he gave up six runs in the middle of the third inning, but he said, “I’m perfectly prepared. I’ll be in great shape for my own opening day,” as he approached this game.<\/p>\n
Last season, after leaving The Tigers, he signed a minor league contract with the Cubs in May and played for the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate, Scranton, from August. After the season ended, he announced his intention to return to Japanese baseball in 2026. After a bidding war among multiple teams, including The Giants and Yakult he decided to join Rakuten Eagles. He chose number “18” for his uniform, inheriting it from Masahiro Tanaka (currently The Giants), a teammate of his age who played for the team until 2024.<\/p>\n
At his signing press conference last December, Kenta Maeda stated, “I am prepared to end my career with Rakuten Eagles. I didn’t choose this team half-heartedly.” This is the final chapter of baseball career. He will be aiming for a win in his next appearance.<\/p>\n
\u25c6 Kenta Maeda: Born April 11, 1988, in Osaka Prefecture. Age 37. Played in Koshien in his first year (summer) and third year (spring) while attending PL Gakuen High School. Drafted in the first round of the 2006 high school draft by the Hiroshima Carp. Moved to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2015 offseason. Played in MLB until last season. Represented Japan in the 2013 WBC and the 2015 Premier12. Two-time Sawamura Award winner, two-time most win ERA strike out three-time Best Nine selection, and five-time Golden Glove Award winner. 185 cm, 83 kg. Right-handed pitcher, right-handed batter. Estimated annual salary this season: 150 million yen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[Rakuten Eagles] Kenta Maeda makes his first appearance in Japanese baseball in 3828 days, but is pulled after…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":658048,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2302],"tags":[5,2353,2352],"class_list":{"0":"post-658047","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-npb","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-nippon-professional-baseball","10":"tag-npb"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116333112316812151","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/658047","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=658047"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/658047\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/658048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=658047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=658047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=658047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}