◆ Pacific League: Seibu Lions vs. Lotte (20th, Saitama Prefectural Omiya Stadium)

Seibu Lions lost to Lotte, ending their five-game winning streak at home games. In the bottom of the ninth inning, they allowed Lotte to take the lead with squeeze and other plays, and were unable to mount a comeback in the bottom of the inning. With Orix Buffaloes win, Seibu lost their top spot in the standings.

In the second inning, with the score tied 0-0, starting pitcher Sugai gave up the first run when Lotte's Yamaguchi hit breaking ball on the seventh pitch into the left field stands. He slumped to his knees on mound, stunned. But he recovered. He gave up six hit through seven innings, but mixed his fastball in the high 140s km/h with slider, change-up, and knuckle curves to get through with minimal runs. He handed mound over to Kaihino in the eighth inning, but he had more than fulfilled his role as a starting pitcher.

However, the offense failed to deliver on this day. In the third inning, with no outs and runner on first and third base, Kojima scored on a wild pitch by Mori to tie the game, but after that, they remained silent.

In their previous game at Omiya Prefectural Stadium on April 10th, they lost to Lotte 3-6, and once again, they were unable to win. Starting on the 22nd, they will play a three-game series at home against league leaders Orix Buffaloes.