◆ Pacific League Nippon-Ham 0-8 Softbank Hawks (21st, ES CON FIELD)

Nippon-Ham 's starting pitcher, Leo Shibata, was forced to leave the game in the third inning with no outs and a runner on first base when a ball hit by Nomura struck the back of his right hand. He suffered a bruise near the base of his right little finger and did not go to the hospital, instead receiving treatment such as ice. After the game, Shibata explained that the injury was minor, saying, "There is no bone damage, and it doesn't hurt. It's swollen, like a bruise."

pitcher coach Kato said, "It didn't hit him directly, but it is swollen. I don't think it's that serious, but he has a future ahead of him," and decided to take the precaution and replace him.

Shibata, who pitched 45 pitches over 3 innings (2 hit 1 runs), said, “My control of my fastball was a little off, but the quality of the pitch itself wasn’t bad, so I was planning to keep pushing hard. I caused trouble for a lot of people at pitcher, so that’s the part I regret. After all, I really want to pitch a long inning.” Despite the mishap, he expressed regret over having to leave the game early.

In the first inning, he recorded a personal best of 155 km/h, struck out out Masaki, Yanagimachi, and Kondo in succession.

"Compared to last year, I feel like I've improved myself. I didn't feel like there was a huge difference."

In his first professional season last year against Softbank Hawks, he was hit hard by players like Kondo and Makihara Dai, so he has clearly shown signs of improvement.