◆ Pacific League Rakuten Eagles 8-4 Seibu Lions (23rd, Yamagata City)

Rakuten Eagles came from behind to win, securing their second consecutive victory. This is the first consecutive win since new manager Masato Yoshii took office. After defeating league leaders Seibu Lions, Manager Yoshii nodded and said, "In order to liven up Pacific League we have to beat the top teams. I think baseball fans will be happy, so we will do our best to achieve that."

The offense came alive in the third inning, trailing by two runs. With the bases loaded loaded and one out, McCusker hit a two-run single to center field, tying the game. Then, with two outs and doble on first and second, Murabayashi hit a two-run double to left field. They scored four runs in this inning to take the lead. In the fifth inning, McCusker hit a solo home run and added more runs. In the sixth inning, they scored three more runs with two bases-loaded Walk and a balk.

Seibu Lions Overcome the starting Wines. The manager said, "Since it's a grounder pitcher, let's hit the pitches that come up in the zone firmly. The left (hitter) was hard to distinguish between two seam fastball and change-up, so we asked the right-handed batter to do their best."

On the pitching side, starting pitcher Takinaka delivered a strong performance, allowing only two runs in six innings. He fulfilled his role as the starter. The relief pitchers also held onto the lead.