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

Nippon-Ham Fighters manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo has stated that he will remove closer Yanagawa from the roster due to signs of fatigue.

He took the mound in the 8th inning, but after walking two batters and putting doble on first and second with two Walk, he gave up a two-run double to left field to Yamaguchi, and was removed from the game. This was his third time runs in his last four appearances, and he hadn't been performing well.

Manager Shinjo explained, "I thought I'd give him a break. I removed him from the roster. He'd been pitching well from the start." He added, "closer position is a position where you have to fight under pressure, so I wanted him to refresh himself mentally. We have other reliever pitcher who are doing well, so I thought it was the perfect timing."

Regarding closer during his absence, he said, "I don't think we'll have a fixed replacement. (Tatsuya and Tanaka) are definitely options. Shimamoto too," expressing his hopes for a replacement.