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

Nippon-Ham infielder Yuki Nomura hit his first home run in a month.

In the first inning, with one out and runners on first and second base, he struck struck out However, in his second at-bat in the third inning with one out and no runner on base, he connected with a 145 km/h inside pitch from Lotte's starting pitcher Kawamura. The ball flew just over the left bullpen for his eighth home run of the season, a solo shot. "There were no runner on base, so I wanted to hit a long ball. I was able to hit a pitch that I could pull well," he commented.

Nomura hit a bases loaded slam to left field in the first inning of the game against Softbank Hawks on May 24th (at Mizuho PayPay Dome), his seventh home run of the season. After that, he consistently got hit, but no more home runs, and in the game against Lotte on May 23rd (at Escon Stadium), he was in starting line-up lineup but struck out in two at-bats and was replaced by a pinch hitter in the sixth inning.