◆ Pacific League Nippon-Ham 7-4 Lotte (24th, ES CON FIELD)

Lotte, currently in fifth place in Pacific League, lost to Nippon-Ham (at Escon Stadium), suffering their second consecutive loss and bringing their record to 33 wins, 33 losses, and 2 ties, eliminating their winning record and dropping them back to a .500 winning percentage.

The starting pitcher right-hander Tokito Kawamura (29). He took mound for the first time in 75 days since the game Seibu Lions on April 10th (in Omiya), aiming for his first win of the season, but pitch in his hometown of Hokkaido was disappointing.

In the first inning, he allowed a single to Mizutani, the leadoff hit, and then with two outs and runners on first and second, he gave up a timely doble the right field line to Kiyomiya, conceding the first run. In the third inning, he allowed triple to Mizuno, the leadoff batter, that hit the center wall, and then sacrifice fly to Reyes. With one out and no runner on base, he gave up a solo home run to Nomura, his eighth of the season, off a 145 km/h pitch to bullpen in left field, giving up two runs in that inning.

In the fourth inning, with two outs and a runner on first, Mizutani hit his fourth two-run homer to right field. They extended their lead to 5 points. In the fifth inning, with one out, Nomura hit his ninth solo home run in two consecutive at-bats. He threw 86 pitches over 5 innings, giving up 3 Home Run and 9 hit 6 runs, missing out on his first win of the season. He regretted, "I home run while my teammates were protecting me. I let the opponent do what they wanted, and I'm sorry for letting the game unfold like this."

The lineup, which had not even stepped on second base on the 23rd and allowed three hit shutout game win to Kitayama, remained silent on this day as well. In the third inning, trailing by one run, starting left-hander Takashi Kato hit the leadoff Yasuda hit to right, the team's first hit, but the following three batters gave up three outs on just five pitches, preventing them from advancing the runner. In the sixth inning, trailing by six runs, Yamamoto led off the doble down the left field line. After 15 inning, he advanced runner to second base for the first time in 15 days, with two outs and a runner on third, but Nishikawa was laid out to center and he couldn't reach home plate.

In the 7th inning, trailing 0-6, Soto singled to center hit with one out. With two outs and a runner on first, pinch hitter Polanco was sent in and hit a massive 5th home run of the season, a two-run shot to right field, scoring the team's first runs in 16 innings since scoring three runs in the 8th inning of the game against Rakuten on the 21st (at ZOZO Rakuten Eagles Stadium). It was his first home run since the game against Softbank Hawks on May 10th (at Mizuho PayPay Dome), showing his determination. In the 8th inning, trailing by five runs, they created a chance with two outs and runners on first and second against the second pitcher, Yanagawa, a right-hander, and Yamaguchi hit a two-run doble that hit the left wall, just shy of Home Run, to narrow the gap to three runs.