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

After the game, Softbank Hawks manager Hiroki Kokubo called an emergency meeting with fielder.

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.

Manager Kokubo, who responded after the game, explained, "(Watanabe) Riku got a hit in good form, and he also got a hit in two consecutive at-bats last time (on the 5th against Yakult). But that base running was a minus. I told him, 'He can't keep him on the first team if he's like that.' That's also due to a lack of guidance from my coaches, and I talked to everyone about how many times he's done the same thing." In the exhibition games, Watanabe had 4 hits RBI hit 5 At Bat, for an 80% batting average, but the manager said, "That one play will lower your evaluation," and once again called for a thorough awareness of base running.