◆ Pacific League Orix Buffaloes 6X-5 Seibu Lions (19th, Kyocera Dome Osaka) =10th extra inning =

With his lips tightly pressed together, Seibu Lions pitcher Kosei Takahashi left mound with a somber expression. It was the bottom of the fifth inning, two outs, runner on first, with a one-run lead. He threw a 131 km/h sweeper pitch that Nishino swung and missed, but he didn't smile. He returned to the dugout while talking with his catcher, Yu Koga.

He struggled with his control. In the second inning, the ball went over hitter 's head, and he walked two bases loaded, loading the bases with two Walk. He runs to get out of that jam by striking out Nishikawa struck out, but he gave up the go-ahead run in the fourth inning.

He threw 102 pitches over five innings, strike out three, allowing six hit, three Walk and two runs. He was in a position to pitcher win, but he reflected, "The ball wasn't going where I wanted it to, so the number of pitches increased and I couldn't get into my own rhythm. But I think it was good that I was able to end the inning with the fewest runs allowed."

In the bottom of the ninth inning with one out, closer Iwaki gave up a game-tying solo home run to Ota, ending Takahashi Hikaru's chance for his eighth win. He had been on a nine-game losing streak against Orix Buffaloes since his last win on April 22, 2023, and that streak will have to wait. Nevertheless, he maintained his fighting spirit until the very end, saying, "I was able to keep my spirits up and face hitter head-on until I left mound," which should be beneficial for future games.