◆Nippon Life Interleague Series 2026 Seibu Lions 1-0 The Giants (14th, Belluna Dome)

On the 14th, after completing 17 interleague games, Seibu Lions Lions manager Fumiya Nishiguchi spoke for the first time about his desire to win the interleague championship, saying, "Now that we've come this far, of course we're going to aim for it."

Starting pitcher Wins pitcher pitched 6 2/3 innings, pitching 4 hit runs a perfect pitch for his second win. In the first inning, he allowed leadoff Urata to reach base with a hit to left, but the following batters retired with three batters to get the out. After that, control was even more controlled, and in the second inning, he recorded a total of seven struck out, including two consecutive missed struck out.

He was taken out in the seventh inning with one out and runners on first and second. Wingenter, who moved up to mound as the second pitcher, struck down Nakayama with three pitches struck out with two outs and bases loaded.

With both teams scoreless until the fifth inning, infielder Kazunari Ishii hit a priceless solo home run, his third of the season, to give his team the lead. The relief pitchers then held onto that precious single run for the win.

They reached 40 wins faster than any other team in either league, and have secured a series win against every team in Central League. A draw or win against Hanshin Tigers on the 16th (Koshien) will secure the team's first-ever interleague championship. The manager summarized the season so far by saying, "This is truly the result of the whole team fighting together. In particular, pitcher, especially the starters, did a great job and were able to hand the ball over to reliever, which I think led to this result. The batting lineup was also persistent. I don't think there were many games where we scored a lot of runs and won, but this is the result of fighting in a way that is typical of our team and somehow managing to win close games." He added emphatically, "If we've come this far, of course we're aiming for the championship. If we're at the top, then we're aiming for it. I think everyone is working towards that goal, so I think everyone will fight hard until the end."