Pacific League Nippon-Ham vs Seibu (15th, ES CON FIELD)

Nippon-Ham 's starting pitcher, Kota Tatsu, gave up 6 hit 3 runs in 7 innings. He left mound after surrendering the lead in a pitcher duel against Seibu Lions 's Taira.

In the second inning, after a double down the left field line by doble and a fielding error by a teammate put runners on first and third with two outs, he got Ishii to hit a foul fly ball to third base, keeping the score at runs. Up to the fifth inning, he had allowed only one hit and no runs, delivering a nearly perfect pitch centered on his fastball, which reached a top speed of 154 km/h.

However, in the sixth inning, with one out, he allowed Walk to Canario and then walked Nishikawa, putting runners on first and second. A single to Watanabe loaded the bases with one out, bringing up cleanup bases loaded Nevin. Nevin hit sacrifice fly to center field, giving up the first run of the game.

Last season, against Nevin, he had 7 hit in 19 At Bat bats, a batting average of .368, and 2 Home Run. Moreover, in both runs complete game game victories against Seibu Lions, where he allowed only one run, he gave up solo Home Run to Nevin, preventing him from achieving shutout game. This season, he has once again allowed a painful hit to an opponent who could be called his nemesis.

Furthermore, in the 7th inning, with two outs, he gave up two runs on three consecutive hits by Ishii, Takizawa, and Hasegawa. He left mound after this inning.

After being taken out of the game, Tatsu commented, "I was facing a good pitcher, so I was trying my best to prevent them from scoring first, but I feel sorry for the team. I also regret fork I threw to Hasegawa in the 7th inning that resulted in a runs. I want to improve the accuracy of breaking ball, of course, but I also want to re-evaluate how I attack opposing hitter."