Kenta Maeda Throws Two-Hit Shutout, Earns 170th Career Win for Rakuten

Kenta Maeda delivered his finest start since returning to Japan, throwing a two-hit complete-game shutout as the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles beat the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters 6-0 on Thursday, September 24, at ES CON Field Hokkaido.

The 38-year-old right-hander struck out nine, did not issue a walk and needed 116 pitches to face only 29 batters. The victory was Maeda’s 170th across Nippon Professional Baseball and Major League Baseball, placing him alongside Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hisashi Iwakuma on the combined Japan-U.S. wins list.

Maeda dominates after first-inning scare

Maeda’s night could have changed almost immediately. With two outs in the first inning, a line drive from Yuki Nomura struck him on the right elbow and became an infield single.

Instead of leaving the game, Maeda stayed in and took complete control. He retired the next 23 Fighters hitters in succession, mixing his fastball and secondary pitches while repeatedly inducing weak contact.

Nippon-Ham did not record another hit until Shun Mizutani reached on an infield single with one out in the ninth. Maeda responded by finishing the game without allowing a run or a third baserunner.

His final line was nine innings, two hits, no walks and nine strikeouts. It was his highest strikeout total of the 2026 season.

First NPB shutout in 12 years

The shutout was Maeda’s first in NPB since 2014, before he left the Hiroshima Toyo Carp for the Los Angeles Dodgers. According to Japanese reports, the 12-year gap is the longest between shutouts in Japanese professional baseball history.

It was the 11th shutout of Maeda’s NPB career and his first since returning to Japan with Rakuten for the 2026 season.

Maeda also reached another career landmark. His fifth victory of the year raised his combined total to 170 wins in NPB and MLB, matching two other prominent Japanese pitchers in Matsuzaka and Iwakuma.

The performance came in Rakuten’s final visit to ES CON Field this season. Afterward, Maeda acknowledged the Fighters supporters and wished Nippon-Ham well in the Climax Series before promising that the Eagles would return stronger next year.

Rakuten breaks through late

For seven innings, Maeda received no run support as Nippon-Ham starter Kota Tatsu matched him in a scoreless duel.

Rakuten finally broke the game open in the eighth. The Eagles scored four times, with catcher Hikaru Ota supplying the biggest hit: a three-run double to center field. Two more runs in the ninth completed the 6-0 victory.

Ota finished with three RBIs, while Kaito Murabayashi drove in two runs. Rakuten collected 10 hits without hitting a home run.

Tatsu allowed two earned runs over 7⅓ innings and took the loss despite keeping the game scoreless through seven. The Fighters managed only two infield singles against Maeda and were shut out in their final regular-season home game.

For Maeda, the night carried significance beyond one victory. Twelve years after his previous NPB shutout and following a decade in the major leagues, he produced a vintage complete-game performance that added another milestone to his career.