◆ Pacific League: Lotte 0-10 Seibu Lions (August 1st, ZOZO Marine Stadium)

Lotte suffered a crushing defeat against Seibu Lions, ending their three-game winning streak. Strong winds of over 10 meters per second blew throughout the day, causing both teams considerable trouble and resulting in numerous timeouts.

The offense was silenced by opposing starting pitcher So Sou Sato. Hiroike, who started the game hoping for his first win of the season, was pulled after four innings after giving up nine hit four runs, despite having his cap nearly blown off several times by the strong wind. His first win was put on hold. His fastest pitch is 154 km/h, but on this day, perhaps due to the wind, his fastest pitch was 149 km/h. "From the start today, my fastball speed wasn't there. Also, the height of breaking ball and my arm motion. I was trying too hard to control them, so that's something I need to reflect on," he said, listing his regrets.

The relievers also failed to step up to the plate, and double digits runs. We lost the first game of a three-game series without being able to pull the flow of the game, always being paced by our opponents.