◆ Pacific League 8-1 Softbank Hawks (April 4th, Mizuho PayPay Stadium)

Lotte dominated Softbank Hawks in both pitching and hitting, overtaking Orix Buffaloes to move up to fourth place.

In the first inning, outfielder Kyota Fujiwara led off by blasting his third home run of the season into the lucky zone in right-center field, marking the start of the game.

Softbank Hawks 's starting pitcher was Hokuto, a right-handed pitcher who was the 8th pick in the 2025 developmental draft and was only registered as a regular player on the 1st, making his professional debut. On his first pitch, a 146 km/h fastball high and inside was hit, giving him a taste of what professional baseball is like.

The first home run on the first pitch of the game was hit by Canario (Seibu Lions) on May 24 against Orix Buffaloes (at Belluna Dome). This is the first home run on the first pitch for Lotte in three years, since Hiromi Oka hit one against The Giants on May 31, 2023 (at ZOZO Marine Stadium).

Furthermore, this was the first hitter Home Run for Lotte in two years, the last being on August 4, 2012, when Hiromi Oka hit one against Orix Buffaloes (at Kyocera Dome Osaka).

Fujiwara commented, "Yesterday I was getting jammed by straight pitches, so I was determined to focus on straight pitches and swing hard from the first pitch. I'm glad we were able to score first."

This gave their offense momentum, and in the second inning, 11 hitter to the plate and scored seven runs in one inning. By the end of the second inning, they had built a massive 8-0 lead.

With ample run support, new foreign left-hander Long, who started the game, relied on his powerful fastball to pitch seven scoreless innings, runs only six hit and earning his first win in Japan. The team now has a two-game lead. In the third round on the 5th, left-hander Kazuya Ojima will start as the team aims to win the series.