◆ Pacific League Nippon-Ham 7-6 Softbank Hawks (15th, ES CON FIELD)

Nippon-Ham held off the counterattack and secured their second win of the season against league leaders Softbank Hawks. They are now four games behind the leader and have a winning record of 10 games.

In the ninth inning, leading by four runs, with a series of hits and Walk to make it one out and bases loaded, Shuto hit a single to center field, then switched from Tanaka to Hori. Pinch hitter Dai Makihara hit a two-run single to right, cutting the gap to one run. He stole second and put runners on second and third with one out, putting runners on second and third in a one-hit comeback, but he retired Kurihara and Yanagida for consecutive struck out and held on to hold on from the start.

After the game, manager Shinjo's first words, tinged with a wry smile, were, "They won't let us win easily." Regarding the upcoming game against Softbank Hawks, against whom they have an overwhelmingly poor record this season with a 1-11 record, he shook his head and said, "I wonder if I get stiff when playing against SoftBank. It's like I'm paralyzed."

Despite the difficulties, they overcame the challenge and secured their second win of the season against Softbank Hawks. "The way we won today feels like a good momentum shift, and maybe we'll start beating Softbank Hawks, a team we've had bad luck with, now that we've won like this," he said, expressing his hope that the tide would turn.