◆ Pacific League Softbank Hawks 6-5 Nippon-Ham (27th, Mizuho PayPay Stadium)

Nippon-Ham failed to hold onto the three-run lead they had built in the first inning, resulting in their first opening-day loss in three years.

With no outs in the first inning, Sachi Kiyomiya Softbank Hawks scored two runs over right field, his first Pacific League from starter Uesawa. After the first strike, Mannami also hit a solo shot over the left field wall to give us a three-run lead in the first inning.

However, starting pitcher Ito gave up a two-run homer to Kurihara in the second inning, and then in the third inning, he gave up a game-tying solo home run to Kondo, who was his teammate in the WBC.

In the fourth inning, Tamiya hit a timely single to right field to take the lead, but immediately afterwards, Yamakawa hit a solo home run to left field, tying the game once again.

In the sixth inning, Umino and Makihara hit consecutive doble, giving up the lead for the first time in the game. Starting pitcher Ito was then taken out of the game. However, in the seventh inning, Mizutani hit a game-tying solo home run to right field, erasing the loss for Ito.

In the eighth inning, with the score tied, Furubayashi took the mound, but after two hit and a battery error, runners were on first and third with one out. At this point, Makihara hit sacrifice fly to right field, giving up the winning run.

Last season, Nippon-Ham had a 12-13 record against the eventual champions, Softbank Hawks. In the Climax Series, excluding the advantage, they were evenly matched with a 3-3 record. Although they started the season with a loss, they have once again engaged in a fierce back-and-forth battle from the opening game of this season.