KITAHIROSHIMA, Japan - Shun Mizutani hit a leadoff home run before the next three Nippon Ham Fighters batters also went deep in a historic start to Thursday's 9-1 win against the Orix Buffaloes.
The Hokkaido-based Fighters became the first Nippon Professional Baseball team to hit four consecutive home runs from their opening at-bat, eclipsing the previous record of three held by five other clubs.
Mizutani was followed over the fence at Es Con Field Hokkaido by Tatsuki Mizuno, Franmil Reyes and Chusei Mannami, knocking out Orix starter Kazuma Sato before he could retire a batter.
The team reached 100 home runs in just 78 games as they won their fifth straight, with manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo unable to hide his delight at the barrage of homers.
"I thought maybe three guys would do it, but then the fourth one hit one too," he said. "You couldn't help but hope for a fifth, right?"
Mannami launched the record-breaking bomb to left field off left-hander Sato's 2-2 slider, setting off spirited celebrations from the Fighters faithful in the stands.
"I can't really believe it," said the 26-year-old outfielder, recently moved into the cleanup slot behind power hitter Reyes. "I get to play in really good situations."
With a focus on home-grown talent, the Fighters have become title contenders under unconventional former big leaguer Shinjo, who took the helm in a rebuilding project starting in 2022.
The club is gunning for the Pacific League pennant this year after finishing runner-up to eventual Japan Series winner the SoftBank Hawks last season.
