◆Nippon Life Interleague Series 2026: Lotte vs. Chunichi (11th, ZOZO Marine Stadium)

Lotte's Shota Suzuki pitcher gave up a game-tying solo home run to left field off Chunichi 's Sano with two outs in the eighth inning, while leading by one run. Starter Kojima pitched 5 2/3 innings, throwing 91 pitches and allowing 7 hit 1 runs and 7 strike out in a gritty performance, but his chance at a third win slipped away.

In the first inning, Kojima gave up a single to left field to leadoff hitter Okabayashi, then allowed another single to left field to Abe with two outs, putting runners on first and second and putting himself in a jam. Still, he kept throwing his powerful fastball to Sano and finally got him to fly out to right field.In the fourth inning, with two outs, Hosokawa connected on a hanging fastball, hitting a home run and cutting the lead to one run. Through the fifth inning, he allowed a runner on base in every inning (hit), but he tightened up in key situations and kept the damage to a minimum (runs).

In the seventh inning, with a one-run lead, pitcher Shunsuke Nakamori took the mound as the third reliever. He walked Walk and gave up single hit, putting the team in a jam with two outs and runners on second and third base. He then allowed a ground ball to left field to Ukai, but left fielder Nishikawa made a diving catch to save the team.

The offense saw their main slugger, Soto, hit a go-ahead RBI single to left field in the first inning, and then hit another RBI single in the third inning, his second in as many at-bats, but they were limited to just two runs.