◆ Pacific League Rakuten Eagles 8X-7 Seibu Lions (22nd, Tokyo Dome) =12 extra inning =

Rakuten won against Seibu Lions with Rakuten Eagles walk-off. This was the first win for new manager Yoshii in his third game in charge.

The early part of the game was tough. In the second inning, they had a good opportunity with no outs and runners on first and second base, but Murabayashi hit a line drive to second base. McCusker, runner on second, was unable to get back in time and was tagged out, and Taira was retired on a fly ball to left field, ending the inning scoreless.

The game was scoreless until the third inning when the score changed. Starting pitcher Hayakawa gave up a solo home run to Watanabe Sei to left field. Then, with two outs and runners on first and third, he gave up a two-run doble to Hasegawa to center field. In the seventh inning, Hayakawa also allowed a solo home run to Watanabe Sei to the center field scoreboard.

In the third inning, trailing by three runs, Sato hit a timely doble to left-center field with no outs and runners on first and second. In the seventh inning, with one out and runners on first and second, Sato hit another timely single to center field.

The batting lineup came alive in the late innings. In the 7th inning, trailing by three runs, with one out and runners on first and second, Sato delivered an RBI single to center field. Then, with two outs and a bases loaded, McCusker hit a two-run RBI single to left field to tie the game. Riding that momentum, the offense wouldn’t stop.With two outs and runners on first and second, Yoshika Watanabe then delivered a go-ahead RBI single to right field. They scored four runs in the seventh inning to take the lead.

In the 8th inning, Kutani gave up a two-run homer to Hasegawa, allowing the opponent to take the lead, but the team tied the game in the bottom of the 9th inning, heading into extra innings at extra inning. extra inning In the 11th inning, they fell behind by one run, but in the bottom of the inning, Asamura’s game-tying home run brought the game back to a tie.Then, in the 12th inning, with two outs and a runner on second—and having been hit up to that point—Kurokawa steeled himself, thinking, “If I don’t deliver now, there’s no future baseball for me,” and hit a shot over the left-field fence walk-off to put an end to the heated battle. The game, which Owner Mikitani had rushed to attend, ended in a dramatic win victory.

"Everyone really did their best. They fought tenaciously," said manager Yoshii, praising his players for winning the season's longest battle of 4 hours and 38 minutes. "The players have shown a winning attitude in all three games. We are making progress little by little," he added, expressing his confidence.