◆ Pacific League vs. Softbank Hawks (3rd, ZOZO Marine Stadium)

Lotte pitcher Yuki Karakawa (37) made a start in his retirement game against the Softbank Hawks. The right-hander, who spent his entire 19-year career with Lotte, threw consecutive cutters—his signature pitch—to the leadoff hitter Masaki. After getting ahead in the count at 1 ball and 2 strikes with a ball, a called strike, and a swinging strike, he struck out the batter swinging with a 145 km/h cutter.

At this point, Manager Saburo left the first-base dugout and informed the home-base umpire of a substitution. The second pitcher was Masuda, who is in the same grade as Karakawa and is also his close friend. The same-grade relay that the two had hoped for became a reality. Masuda got Shuto out on a left fly for two outs and allowed a shortstop infield hit to Kondo, but he retired Kurihara on a shortstop grounder to escape with zero runs.

After leaving the mound, Karakawa calmly reflected on his final career appearance, saying, 'Since I threw a low, sinking ball on the first pitch, I threw the next ones trying to make an adjustment. Honestly, I wanted to throw faster balls. It was a pitch that perfectly represented my 19 years, choosing to line up strikes even at this stage. I was moved by Masuda's pitching that followed.'

◆Yuki Karakawa: Born July 5, 1989, in Narita City, Chiba. 37 years old. While at Narita High School, he appeared in the Spring Koshien during his second and third years. He joined Lotte as a first-round pick in the 2007 high school draft. His career totals over 351 games are 82 wins, 78 losses, 64 holds, and a 3.71 ERA. He stands 181 cm tall and weighs 90 kg. He is a right-handed pitcher and hitter. His estimated salary for this season is 44 million yen. He is married.