Five professional baseball games were played, and last season, the Japan number one Orix beat Seibu after extra time.
Yakult, who are aiming to become the first team in the history of the team to win three consecutive league titles, won the opening game with a home run by Munetaka Murakami.

【Pacific League】

Seibu vs Orix

Seibu vs. Orix went into 10 innings, with Orix winning 3-2.

○ Wins: Waguespack pitcher 1 win.
Saved: Yoshitoshi Hirano 1 save.
- Loss: Tinoco pitcher 1 loss.
◎ Home runs:
Orix Mori No. 1, Sou No. 1.
Seibu Aito No. 1.

Orix tied the game 1-2 in the ninth inning with two outs when Mori, who transferred from Seibu, tied the game with a solo home run and Sou hit a solo home run in the 9th inning.

The fifth Wagues pack is the winning pitcher.

In the end, pitcher Yoshitoshi Hirano closed it out.

Seibu failed the pitcher's relay, and Takahashi's one-run effort in the eighth inning went unrewarded.

SoftBank vs Lotte

In SoftBank vs. Lotte, SoftBank won 4-0.

○ Wins: Ozeki pitcher 1 win.
- Loss: Kojima pitcher 1 loss.
◎ Home run:
SoftBank Kurihara No. 1.

SoftBank took the lead in the sixth inning with a three-run home run by Kurihara in the fourth, and then added another run in the seventh on a timely two-base hit by Taisei Makihara.

Starting pitcher Ozeki pitched seven scoreless innings with two hits and no runs to win the season, and SoftBank won the season opener for the seventh consecutive year.

Lotte lost the shutout with five hits when Kojima hit a painful home run.

【Central League】

Yakult vs Hiroshima

In the match between Yakult and Hiroshima, Yakult won 4-0.

○ Wins: Ogawa pitcher 1 win.
- Loss: Pitcher Osera 1 loss.
◎ Home runs:
Yakult Murakami No. 1, Osuna No. 1.

Yakult opened the scoring in the first inning when Murakami hit a two-run home run in his first at-bat of the season.

Osuna's solo home run in the sixth inning and Nakamura's squeeze in the eighth added another run.

Starting pitcher Ogawa pitched seven scoreless innings with three hits and no runs to earn his first win of the season.

Hiroshima had three double plays and couldn't get to third base.

Yakult Munetaka Murakami: Aiming to be the best player in the world

Yakult's Munetaka Murakami got off to a good start by hitting a home run in the opening game of the WBC = World Baseball Classic for the first time since the final.

"It was a turning point for me to start my baseball career anew, and I will do my best to become the best player in the world."

On March 3, just before the start of the tournament, Murakami looked straight ahead in front of the approximately 28 people gathered at the WBC championship debriefing session held at Yakult's headquarters.

Last season, Murakami hit 300 home runs, the most of any Japan player, and became the youngest player in history to win the Triple Crown with a batting average of 56.3.1 and 8 RBI.

However, he had a difficult time in the WBC, which was expected to be the No. 134 in the Japan. His form did not improve from the first round, his batting average was in the 4% range, and from the quarterfinals, his batting order was No. 1.

Even so, he showed his will by hitting a goodbye two-base hit in the semifinals and a solo home run in the final, contributing to the Japan's victory.

To Murakami, who suffered on the world stage, Japan national team coach KURIYAMA Hideki sent a message saying, "You can finish with your homework."

At a press conference on 1 March, coach Kuriyama revealed, "In order to surpass all the big leaguers who came out this time, and to become the best, I told them, 'People can move forward better if they have homework.'"

Murakami himself says that he was greatly inspired by Shohei Ohtani and pitcher Yu Darvish, and will refer to his training methods and how to take supplements.

In particular, he reflected on the batting of fellow long-distance batter Otani, saying, "The way he uses his body, the way he puts his weight, and the way he contacts the ball are all amazing," and expressed his idea that he will use it as a source of sustenance, saying, "It was a good experience to play with a player who is active in the world when I was young."

In his sixth year, his goal is to set a career high to surpass last season in all batting records.

To that end, this season, I would like to improve my batting through repeated trial and error, such as changing the position of the bat, so that I will "think while taking on challenges in the game."

After the frustration and experience of the WBC, which was a turning point, Murakami made a new start with the aim of becoming the "best player in the world."

Hanshin vs DeNA

Hanshin vs DeNA was won by Hanshin 6-3.

○ Wins: Aoyagi pitcher 1 win.
Saved: Yuasa pitcher 1 save.
- Loss: Ishida pitcher 1 loss.

Hanshin took a three-run lead in the second inning on back-to-back timely hits by Umeno and Obata and a sacrifice fly by Chikamoto, and then added another run in small increments.

Starting pitcher Aoyagi allowed two hits and one run in the middle of the sixth inning, while Yuasa earned the save.

DeNA couldn't play a role as starting pitcher Ishida gave up four runs in four innings.

Giants vs. Chunichi

In the Giants vs. Chunichi, Chunichi won 6-3.

○ Wins: Katsuno pitcher 1 win.
Saves: Martinez pitched 1 save.
- Loss, Lopez pitcher 1 loss.
◎ Home Run:
Giants Sho

Nakata scored three runs in the ninth inning on Okabayashi's pitcher from second base with one out and two runs on second base and Shuhei Takahashi's timely two-base hit.

Starting pitcher Ogasawara pitched until the middle of the eighth inning, the second pitcher Katsuno pitched the winning pitch on one pitch, and Martinez closed out the ninth.

The Giants rallied in the eighth inning but failed to escape.