Rakuten's Ken Maeda wins his first shutout after returning for the first time in 11 years, with spectacular pitching with 9 strikeouts and no walks.

With truly skilled pitching, Rakuten's Ken Maeda recorded his first shutout since August 2014. ``I was able to throw all kinds of pitches on the course. I was able to throw consistently from the first inning to the last,'' he said, expressing his satisfaction with the 116 pitches he threw.

Once, I had an accident where my right arm was hit by a ball. He said, ``The faces of the middle relievers crossed their faces,'' but it didn't turn out to be anything serious, and they kept getting outs. His assembly around the slider was outstanding, and 23 players in a row were out midway through the first inning. His fastball was powerful until the end.

In the 9th inning, he first struck out Tamiya with a 149 km fastball. Mizutani allowed the second runner of the day with an infield hit, but Hosokawa was grounded out and Mizuno was hit out, making the opposing fans roar.

He allowed only two hits and did not let anyone step on second base. An impressive performance with nine strikeouts and no hit by pitch. He didn't forget to thank his catcher, saying, ``Ota led the way and hit the ball in the right spot.''

This season, when he returned to Japanese baseball for the first time in 11 years, he had a hard time getting a win, but only got his first win in June. This is his 5th win in his 14th start, and he is tied for 6th place in Japan and the United States with 170 wins, tying him with Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hisashi Iwakuma. It was an appearance that gave hope for good pitching in the future.