◆ Saito pointed out, "I think he might be in a bit of a slump; he's feeling too much pressure."

Nippon-Ham lost to Lotte 2-4 on the 1st, missing out on a winning streak and ending the season with a record of 1 win and 4 losses.

On the Fuji TV ONE program "Pro baseball News 2026" aired on the 1st, MC Yutaka Takagi pointed out that "one thing that concerns me is that Yuya Gunji hasn't been hitting very well," referring to cleanup hitter Gunji, who had no hit in four At Bat-bats that day, bringing his batting average to .190. Commentator Akio Saito analyzed, "He might be in a bit of a slump. He might be feeling too much pressure as the cleanup hitter, so he's letting easy pitches go by and swinging at difficult ones, which is the kind of at-bat that puts a player in the worst slump. He also doesn't seem to be reading the pitches well when he's behind in the count."

On the other hand, Takagi emphasized, "If this guy can get back in form, this lineup could score even more runs. There's no way I'm going to change him (from the cleanup hitter)."

☆ Cooperation: Fuji TV ONE "Professional baseball News 2026"