◆ Pacific League: Nippon-Ham vs. Lotte (24th, ES CON FIELD)

Lotte’s Tokito Kawamura (Tokito) pitcher (29) took the mound on the 24th against Nippon-Ham (Escon) for the first time in about two and a half months, aiming for his first win of the season win. However, after pitching five innings and throwing 86 pitches—during which he gave up three Home Run—he was pulled from the game with a line of 9 hit 6 runs, missing out on his first win of the season win.

In the first inning, lead-off batter Mizutani hit a 144-kilometer-per-hour fastball on the first pitch for a single to left field hit.After Mizuno reached first sacrifice bunt and a walk to Reyes Walk put runners on first and second with one out, the pitcher induced a swinging strike struck out from Nomura, but Kiyomiya skillfully connected with an inside pitch fork, driving in a run with an RBI single down the right-field line doble to give the opposing team the lead.

In the second inning, with one out, he gave up a hit wall that hit Yoshida in center field doble, putting runners on third with two outs. However, he held his ground by inducing a swinging strikeout struck out on a 144 km/h fastball—his ninth pitch—to Mizutani. But in the third inning, he allowed a hit wall that hit Mizuno in center field triple to lead off the inning, followed by a hit sacrifice fly to Reyes.Furthermore, with one out and no runners on base runner, Nomura hit a 145-kilometer-per-hour solo home run to left field bullpen—his eighth of the season—and the team gave up two runs in that inning.

In the fourth inning, with two outs and a runner on first, Mizutani hit a two-run homer to right field, extending the lead to five runs. In the fifth inning, with one out, Nomura hit his ninth home run of the season, a solo shot, his second in as many at-bats. The offense, which had been shutout game by Kitayama the previous day without even reaching second base, was closer scoreless with just two hit through six innings against Nippon-Ham starting left-handed pitcher Kato, making for a difficult game.

In his sixth year with the team, Kawamura made a strong start on April 10th against Seibu Lions (in Omiya), pitching six innings, allowing only four hit and one runs. However, he had been adjusting in the minor leagues since then. In the minors, he maintained good form with 5 wins and 2 losses in 12 appearances and ERA of 2.51. From mid-May, he improved his performance, allowing one runs or less in five consecutive appearances, and was finally back on the first-team mound after 75 days.

He hails from Mukawa Town, Hokkaido, and attended Shirakaba Gakuen High School and Seisa Doto University before joining the Chiba Lotte Marines in the 2020 draft as the 4th pick. He started for his local Hokkaido team, Escon, on September 22nd of last year, pitching 7 innings, allowing only 2 hit and no runs, and pitcher win.

Kawamura commented, "My teammates were defending me well, and yet I hit home run. I'm sorry that I let the opponent do what they wanted and that the game unfolded this way."