◆ Pacific League Nippon-Ham 2-4 Lotte (August 1st, ES CON FIELD)

Nippon-Ham lost a close game, bringing their record to 1 win and 4 losses after the first five games of the season.

Kitayama, the starter, threw 5 2/3 innings and 3 hit 4 runs shut down the Lotte batting line hit with no outs until the 3rd inning, but with one out in the 4th inning, he allowed Nishikawa to hit his first hit hit up the middle, and Teraji connected with a double infield hit to put runners on first and second with two outs. Here, Soto caught a straight ball from full count and gave up his second three-run homer over the left field wall.

In the sixth inning, with two outs and a runner on second base, reliever Yamazaki took mound. Yamazaki then allowed a timely single to left field to Teraji, extending the lead to four runs.

bases loaded struck out The batting lineup was 1 hit to closer in the fifth inning against Lotte starter Jackson, but Mannami scored two runs in the sixth inning off second baseman Osamu Takano, No. 3 to the left-field pole.

His streak of consecutive games with multiple Home Run from the start of the season also came to an end at four, with 13 Home Run in the first five games of the season. He fell just one home run short of the Pacific Pacific League record of 14 set by the 1991 Seibu Lions, who boasted the "AKD trio" of Akiyama, Kiyohara, and Destrade.