◆ Pacific League Rakuten Eagles Softbank Hawks (August 2nd, Rakuten Eagles Mobile)

Softbank Hawks chased one run in the 8th inning with one out, and Yamakawa hit a solo shot to the left-center seat to tie the score with No. 3 to return the game to the starting line. However, Yuki Matsumoto, who took the mound in second place from behind him, scored a two-run doble to Murabayashi from third base with two outs. Yutaka Matsumoto, who participated in the WBC Japan national team as the best reliever pitcher last season, runs for the second consecutive game following the Rakuten Eagles game on March 31. Last season, he did not have two consecutive runs in 51 appearances.

A six-game winning streak to start the season would have been the first time in four years, since 2022. That year, under manager Hiroshi Fujimoto, the team achieved an eight-game winning streak to start the season for the first time in 67 years, but ultimately finished in second place. Last season, when they won the league championship, they started with a 1-6 record after three consecutive losses, followed by one win and then another three losses.