Lotte beats Rakuten 3-2; Yamaguchi homers twice, Yokoyama ties save lead
In short
Lotte beat Rakuten 3-2 at ZOZO Marine Stadium on Oct 4, their second straight win, with Yamaguchi hitting home runs in two consecutive at-bats. Yokoyama recorded his 35th save, tying for the league lead, and starter Kojima pitched seven innings for one run and his sixth win, according to TBS NEWS DIG. The win left Lotte 63-75-3 in fifth place, half a game behind fourth-place Orix, and completed its season series against Rakuten at 16 wins and 9 losses.
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Lotte beat Rakuten 3-2 at ZOZO Marine Stadium on Oct 4, its second straight win, TBS NEWS DIG reported. The result left Lotte at 63 wins, 75 losses and 3 draws, twelve games below .500 and fifth in the standings, half a game behind fourth-place Orix, according to TBS. Mynavi News's live file recorded the final score as Lotte 3-2 Rakuten. [ 4 , 6 ]
Rakuten took the lead in the first inning when Lotte starter Kojima gave up a sacrifice fly to Murabayashi, TBS NEWS DIG reported. Kojima pitched seven innings and allowed one run for his sixth win of the season, and Yokoyama closed the game with his 35th save, tying for the league lead, according to TBS. [ 6 ]
Yamaguchi hit home runs in two consecutive at-bats, Yomiuri Shimbun and TBS NEWS DIG reported. TBS said his 36th home run, a come-from-behind two-run shot, was the most by a Lotte player since the club's relocation, and that he followed it with his 37th; Yomiuri also noted Yokoyama's league-top-tying save total. NHK News credited Yamaguchi's two home runs in its results roundup of the win. [ 5 , 6 , 8 ]
With the victory Lotte completed its season series against Rakuten at 16 wins and 9 losses, TBS NEWS DIG said. Mynavi News followed the game through a pre-game post, a live blog, a mid-game update that showed Lotte trailing 0-1 and the final 3-2 score, and then published a pre-game post for Lotte's next game, against Seibu at the same stadium on Oct 5. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 6 , 9 ]
Why it matters
The result kept Lotte within half a game of fourth place in the Pacific League standings as reported by TBS NEWS DIG, in a late-season stretch where every game moves the table. Yamaguchi's two home runs gave the club a milestone — TBS described his 36th as the most by a Lotte player since the club's relocation — while Yokoyama moved into a tie for the league lead in saves.
Key facts
- Lotte beat Rakuten 3-2 at ZOZO Marine Stadium on Oct 4 (2026), Mynavi News's final score and TBS NEWS DIG's report show. [ 4 , 6 ]
- Yamaguchi hit home runs in two consecutive at-bats; TBS said his 36th, a come-from-behind two-run shot, was the most since the club's relocation, and that he added his 37th. [ 5 , 6 ]
- Yokoyama recorded his 35th save, tying for the league lead, according to Yomiuri Shimbun and TBS NEWS DIG. [ 5 , 6 ]
- Kojima started and pitched seven innings, allowing one run and earning his sixth win, TBS NEWS DIG reported. [ 6 ]
- Rakuten took the lead in the first inning on a sacrifice fly by Murabayashi, per TBS NEWS DIG. [ 6 ]
- The win was Lotte's second straight and left the team at 63-75-3, fifth in the standings, 0.5 games behind fourth-place Orix, with a 16-9 season record against Rakuten, TBS NEWS DIG reported. [ 6 ]
Confirmed by several sources
Still unclear
- Kojima's line of seven innings and one run for his sixth win, and TBS's description of Yamaguchi's 36th home run as the club's most since its relocation, appear only in the TBS NEWS DIG report. Single-source detail: Yomiuri and NHK did not give the pitching line or the franchise-record framing.
- The inning-by-inning course of the game beyond the first inning is not set out in the documents. Mynavi's updates carry only a mid-game 0-1 score and the final 3-2, and TBS describes only the first inning.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Mynavi News publishes a pre-game post for Lotte vs Rakuten at ZOZO Marine Stadium. [ 1 ]
- Mynavi News opens its live coverage of the game from first pitch. [ 2 ]
- Mynavi News's mid-game update shows Lotte 0-1 Rakuten. [ 3 ]
- Mynavi News posts the final result: Lotte 3-2 Rakuten. [ 4 ]
- Yomiuri Shimbun and TBS NEWS DIG publish reports on the win, Yamaguchi's two home runs and Yokoyama's 35th save. [ 5 , 6 ]
- NHK News carries the result in its baseball results roundup. [ 8 ]
- The next day, Mynavi News publishes a pre-game post for Lotte vs Seibu at the same stadium. [ 9 ]