◆ Pacific League Nippon-Ham 3-5 Seibu Lions (17th, ES CON FIELD)

The stadium erupted in cheers that were almost screams. In the bottom of the 7th inning, with one out and a runner on first base, trailing by one run, Seibu Lions outfielder Masayuki Kuwahara (32) swung at Uehara's 133 km/h low and inside fork, sending the ball soaring into the left field bullpen. His second home run of the season was a go-ahead two-run shot that brought win to a team that had been on a three-game losing streak. In a game where fielder had come together with the motto "One person can encourage everyone," Kuwahara demonstrated his leadership role by leading by example.

He started the game as the leadoff hitter and left fielder. In the first inning, he led off with triple to left-center field and then scored the first run on sacrifice fly to right field by Genda. In the fifth inning, with one out and runners on second and third, his ground ball to third base brought in the second run, finishing with 2 hits in 5 At Bat hit 3 RBI. Despite being involved in a total of 4 runs, he remained calm, saying, "I'm getting good results right now, but I want to continue to think carefully about my role and express that through my play."

It was the day we had been waiting for. On this day, Takumi Kuriyama outfielder (42), who has announced his retirement at the end of this season in his 25th year as a professional, joined the first team. For Kuwabara, "I admired him. When I didn't know how to bat, I watched videos of Mr. Kuriyama talking on YouTube and used them as a great reference. During the pre-game hitting practice, they went around in the same group and practiced defense together in the left field position. I was nervous. I was sweating 1.5 times more than usual (laughs).

Kuriyama is expected to be added to the active roster as early as the 18th. The synergistic effect of the "baseball' gutsy player" whom he admires and aspires to be like, and "Mr. Leo," who has recorded a total of 2,150 hit, will put the team on an upward trajectory. (Ayami Onaka)