◆パ・リーグ　日本ハム―ソフトバンク（２１日・エスコンフィールド）

In the bottom of the fourth inning with no outs and a one-run lead, Softbank Hawks 's Ryoya Kurihara connected with a high fastball from Kanemura on a full count, sending it into the right-field stands for his 20th home run of the season, his first in eight games. He became the first player in both leagues to reach 20 home runs, a feat not achieved by a SoftBank player since Nobuhiko Matsunaka in 2005.

“With Yugo (Maeda) pitching well pitch, I stepped up to the plate determined to score another run,” he recalled. “I stayed patient full count and managed to connect on a fastball.” His career high is 21 home runs in 2021, and he’s now just one shy of that mark.