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

Softbank Hawks dropped a close game, and the winning streak from the opening stopped at 5. Yutaka Matsumoto, who took the mound in second place from the 8th inning with the score tied, 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 two consecutive games following the same card on March 31. Last season, he did not have two consecutive runs in 51 appearances.

In the ninth inning chasing two runs, Kondo took advantage of the opportunity to bases loaded no outs and hit a deep sacrifice fly to right-center. However, second base runner pinch runner Shoko was late to return to second base and could not touch up. If he had advanced to third base, Yanagimachi's right-handed fly would have tied the score, so it was a painful mistake in judgment. Coach Kokubo looked back on this scene, saying, "I have been practicing since the camp, and it was a painful mistake that I couldn't (judge) there."

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.