Softbank Hawks Hawks manager Hiroki Kokubo urged pitcher on the 10th to be bold enough to allow solo home runs. The team traveled to Hokkaido by air that day to prepare for their games against Nippon-Ham Fighters on the 11th and 12th at ES CON FIELD.

When they faced each other in the opening series, they won all three games at their home stadium, Mizuho PayPay Dome. The scores were 6-5, 6-4, and 8-4 in the first three games. All three games were slugfests in which both teams combined for 20 hit.

Since then, Nippon-Ham has also won three consecutive series. Their batting lineup has been in great form, hitting 24 Home Run in 12 games so far, and as of the 10th, they are only one game behind league leaders Softbank Hawks.

Manager Kokubo, as usual, said, "The real competition is in September," and then urged pitcher to adopt an aggressive stance towards Nippon-Ham batting lineup, saying, "If you attack boldly, a solo home run would be fine, wouldn't it? The key is how to prevent runner from getting on base." He added confidently, "If you don't go into the game with the mindset that a solo home run is okay, you'll end up cowering."