◆Nippon Life Interleague Series 2026: Lotte 0-1 Hanshin Tigers (29th, ZOZO Marine Stadium)

Lotte suffered their seventh shutout loss of the season in the first game of their series against Hanshin Tigers. Their winning streak since the start of the interleague series ended at three games, and they failed to return to a .500 winning percentage for the first time since April 4th.

The batting lineup was unable to break through Hanshin Tigers starting left-handed pitcher, Takahashi. In the second inning, with two outs, Ikeda hit doble to left field, but Inoue flied out to right field. In the fifth inning, Sato led off with a single to center hit, but the subsequent batters were shut down and no runs were scored. In the end, through the eighth inning, they managed two hit, struck out six, and runner three Hit by Pitch, getting runners on base, but were unable to score any runs.

After the game, manager Saburo honestly expressed his feelings, saying, "When a good pitcher comes along, it just goes to show that we're still just rookies. I was actually looking forward to it. Lately, we've been able to hit fastballs, so I was looking forward to seeing how we would handle a good pitcher like this, but I'm a little disappointed. I think we still have a long way to go."