◆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）

Nippon-Ham suffered consecutive losses to Softbank Hawks, failing to win the series. Their lead in the standings dropped to six games, and the gap between them and league leaders Seibu Lions, who win games, widened to 6.5 games. This brings their record against Softbank Hawks this season to 1 win and 10 losses.

Manager Shinjo did not speak to the press after the game, instead responding through the team with "We have no comment." After the game the previous day, on the 20th, he had expressed his determination, saying, "The number of losses up until now doesn't matter, and we're starting from yesterday (the 19th). If we win tomorrow (the 21st), we'll be 2 wins and 1 loss, and we'll be able to maintain that pace no matter which team we play against," but it was all in vain.