◆ Pacific League: Nippon-Ham vs. Orix Orix Buffaloes (August 2nd, ES CON FIELD)

Nippon-Ham achieved a first in professional baseball history by hitting four consecutive home runs from the first inning.

In the first inning, after falling behind by one run, Mizutani led off by hitting a game-tying solo home run to left field off Orix Buffaloes 's starting pitcher Sato Ichi's fork. Then Mizuno followed with a go-ahead solo home run to right field, his fifth of the season.

Amidst the roar of the crowd, Reyes stepped up to the plate. As expected, he produced a resounding crack of the bat and blasted his 20th home run of the season over the center field wall.

Next up was Manami, who hit his 16th home run of the season, a solo shot to left-center field. As the stands erupted in cheers, mound Sato Ichi knelt down in stunned silence. Manager Shinjo raised both hands in excitement, clearly unable to hide his astonishment.

It had only been eight minutes since the attack began. He knocked out Sato Ichi and seized control of the match in one fell swoop.

Nippon-Ham 's Mizutani: "My entrance music is 'Leadoff Pineapple' by Coach Morimoto. I'll get another hit next time. That's all from the field."

Nippon-Ham 's Mizuno: "Jesse (Mizutani) created momentum for us, so we rode that wave!"

Nippon-Ham 's Reyes: "The moment Tatsuki (Mizuno) hit it, I was only aiming for home run!"

Nippon-Ham 's Manami: "I don't quite understand it!"

◆Four consecutive home runs from the leadoff batter in the first inning is a first in professional baseball history.

In the past, there have been five instances of three consecutive Home Run from the start of the first inning, the last being when Yakult recorded it against Hiroshima on September 20, 2020 (four times Central League and once Pacific League). This is the first time that four consecutive home runs have been recorded.