Ren Fukushima’s Emergency Start Keeps Fighters in Hunt for NPB’s Second Seed

Ren Fukushima delivered five one-hit innings in an emergency start and Yuya Gunji hit the first grand slam of his professional career as the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters beat the Chiba Lotte Marines 8-3 at ZOZO Marine Stadium on September 28. The victory moved the Fighters within half a game of the Saitama Seibu Lions in the race for second place and home-field advantage in the Pacific League Climax Series First Stage.

Fukushima answers the call on short notice

Fukushima was asked to start after Takayuki Kato was ruled out with influenza. The 22-year-old right-hander had worked primarily in relief since mid-July and learned only a day earlier that he would make his first start since July 12.

He looked fully prepared. Fukushima retired the first six batters, allowed a third-inning single to Kodai Inoue and did not permit another baserunner. He completed five scoreless innings on 62 pitches without issuing a walk or hitting a batter, earning a career-high sixth victory and his first win as a starter in three months.

Yuki Nomura gave Nippon-Ham a 1-0 lead with a two-out RBI single in the third. The margin remained one run until the seventh, when a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch and a walk forced home two runs.

Gunji decides it with one swing

The Fighters broke the game open in the eighth. With the bases loaded and nobody out, manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo sent Gunji to the plate as a pinch hitter. Gunji attacked Keisuke Sawada’s first pitch and drove it into the left-field seats for his seventh home run of the season and the first grand slam of his career.

Tatsuki Mizuno followed with an RBI single to make it 8-0, completing a three-hit, two-RBI night. Chiba Lotte scored once in the eighth and twice in the ninth, including Koki Yamaguchi’s 33rd home run, but the late response did not threaten the result.

Pacific League race tightens

Nippon-Ham improved to 77-62-3, while Seibu’s 4-2 loss to the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles dropped the Lions to 76-60-4. Seibu remained second, but the Fighters closed to within half a game with the regular season nearing its end.

With the Pacific League pennant already secured by the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, the remaining battle between Seibu and Nippon-Ham will determine which club hosts the opening stage of the Climax Series. Fukushima’s unexpected start ensured that race will continue into the final games.