[Softbank] Manager Hiroki Kokubo: “We’re just one win away” – Comeback win over Rakuten puts SoftBank on the brink of consecutive league championships / Q&A
Sports Hochi
2025.9.26(金) 22:22
Pacific League Rakuten 3-4 Softbank (26th, Rakuten Mobile)
Softbank came from behind to win Rakuten and made the winning magic to consecutive championships “1”. Starter Uezawa struggled to get up and scored 3 runs until the second inning, but did not give up any additional runs after the third inning. In the 6th inning, Yanagimachi closed the gap to 1 run with his most No. 5 2 runs, and in the 7th inning, Kondo hit a wall direct hit from first base with no outs at the right time triple. Immediately after, Kurihara caught the first pitch and succeeded in winning with a timely doble. In the 8th inning, which was a one-run lead, Yutaka Matsumoto connected with a runs, and Sugiyama finished the 9th inning with his 29th save, tying for the most in the league. Uezawa won his 12th victory in the 21st year of the Nippon-Ham era.
Below is a Q&A with manager Hiroki Kokubo after the game.
-pitcher Uesawa held on
The first two runs came in the fourth inning with one out and runners on second and third. If they had gotten it there, it might have been one-sided…The atmosphere changed when they scored three runs and Tatsu (Yanagimachi, who scored two runs in the sixth inning) home run
– Yanagimachi hits his career-high fifth home run.
“That’s right. Five is the most. Don’t say something embarrassing like that. I want you to aim higher. You’re outfielder, after all.”
– Kurihara hit the winning doble. He’s a strong contender.
“With that momentum, I went for the first pitch. He had been on a long break, so I told him to do his best in September, and he did.”
-About pitcher ‘s pitch in the 7th inning
“pitch with the intention of not allowing any runs to be scored after the comeback. I was giving it my all in the eighth inning, knowing Matsumoto would win.”
-Magic 1
“Of course, of course. We’re one win away from winning.”
Related News
・ [Scoreboard] Rakuten vs. Softbank
・ [Softbank] Comeback win over Rakuten puts them on the brink of winning the league title for the second consecutive year! With Nippon-Ham win, the championship decision will be postponed until after the 27th.
・ [Softbank] At the end of the 5th inning, they are behind 0-3. If they continue like this, they will not be able to win the championship… Second place Nippon-Ham is leading by 3 points
・ [Softbank] Trailing by one point in the seventh inning, Kensuke Kondo and Ryoya Kurihara hit consecutive long hits to turn the game around… a big step towards consecutive league championships
・ [Softbank] Trailing by three in the sixth inning, Tatsuru Yanagimachi hit his fifth two-run home run over the center field fence, saying, “I’m glad it turned out the best way possible.”
AloJapan.com