◆ Pacific League: Lotte 3-2 Rakuten Eagles (4th, ZOZO Marine)

Lotte outfielder Koki Yamaguchi led the team to a win with home runs in two consecutive at-bats.

First, in the fourth inning with no outs and a runner on first, trailing by one run, he caught an inside low cutter thrown by Hayakawa. The ball flew into the left-field stands. With his 36th two-run Home Run, he turned the game around. The record for most Home Runs since the team moved to Chiba was previously 35, set by Benny in 2004, but he has now broken it. 'I'm happy to be number one for the Chiba Lotte Marines,' he said with a broad smile.

Furthermore, in the sixth inning with a one-run lead, he stepped up as the leadoff hitter and launched a certain 37th solo home run into the left-field seats. With a spectacular display of back-to-back home runs in two consecutive plate appearances, he sent the home stadium into a festive frenzy.

He is now three away from Kurihara (Softbank Hawks), who leads the league with 40. There are two games remaining. On the hero interview stage, he raised his voice and said, 'Now that I've come this far, I want to take the home run title. I will do my best to reach 40.'