◆ Mr. Iwamoto is focusing on Makihara and Yamakawa, saying, "The results of tomorrow's first at-bat will determine the vitality of the batting lineup."

On the 19th, Softbank lose 1-7 to Nippon-Ham in the fifth game of the final stage of the 2025 Persol Climax Series Pacific League. While SoftBank was on the brink of advancing to the Japan Series, they suffered three straight losses, and were tied with Nippon-Ham at 3-3.

On the 19th, Fuji TV ONE's "Professional baseball News 2025" broadcast, many criticized the batting line-up, which only managed one run without any consecutive hits. Commentator Tomotaka Sakaguchi commented, "Looking at each individual player, it doesn't seem like they're not swinging at all, but in terms of cohesion, it's not very hit. This is also true for Taisei Makihara, but this is a team that can suddenly become cohesive if they somehow manage to get one hit somewhere, so it's important to come up with a solid strategy here and patiently do what each player can at bat."

Another commentator, Koshino Kenji, predicted, "Even during the long regular season, they have suffered consecutive losses, but at times like those, they have been able to switch gears when it matters most and turn them into wins, which is why they have won the league championship. In that sense, I am hoping that we will be able to see Softbank 's true strength in the one remaining game tomorrow." MC Iwamoto Tsutomu speculated, "It's (Makihara and Hotaka Yamakawa 's) first turn at bat tomorrow. I think the result will have a big impact on the vitality of the batting line-up."

☆ Cooperation: Fuji TV ONE "Professional baseball News 2025"