◆Pre-season game Softbank Hawks 2-2 The Giants (10th, Ube)

Softbank Hawks manager Hiroki Kokubo held an emergency meeting with fielder after the game.

Trailing by two runs in the seventh inning with two outs and runners on second and third, catcher Riku Watanabe hit a two-run doble over the center field fence to tie the game. The next hitter, Takashi Hirose, was Walk, leaving runners on first and second, but Watanabe, runner on second, was unable to return to catcher 's pickoff throw and was out. The game ended in a tie.

After the game, manager Kokubo explained, "Riku (Watanabe) got a good hit, and he also got two consecutive hits in the previous game (on the 5th against Yakult). But that base running was a negative. I said, 'We can't keep him on the first team like that.' I also acknowledge that it's due to a lack of guidance from the coaches and myself, and I talked to everyone about how many times he's made the same mistake." Watanabe has a batting average of .800 in the open games with 4 At Bat 5 hit and 3 RBI, but the manager said, "His evaluation will drop because of that one play," and reiterated his need for a thorough awareness of base running.