◆ Pacific League Seibu Lions 3-4 Lotte (16th, Belluna Dome)

Seibu Lions 's starting pitcher, Yutaro Watanabe, who had a seven-game QS (quality start = six innings or more with three or fewer earned runs), was hit hard, ending their three-game winning streak. They also missed out on their first three-game sweep against the same opponent in July. The gap between them and league leaders Softbank Hawks, who had already finished their games, widened again to three games.

Watanabe suffered his fifth loss of the season, giving up 8 hit 4 runs in 7 1/3 innings. He had pitch a no hit hitter through the first two innings. In the third inning, after giving up consecutive hits to put runners on first and second with one out, he gave up a two-run doble to Nishikawa that went over center fielder 's head, allowing the opposing team to score the first run.

He continued to pitch tenaciously after that, but ran into trouble in the 8th inning, his second time on mound this season. He walked the leadoff batter, then gave up consecutive hits to load the bases with bases loaded Walk, and then gave up doble to Yasuda that split left-center field, allowing the opposing team to take the lead. At this point, manager Nishiguchi called for a pitching change.

Taking the mound with no outs and runners on second and third base, Kuroda retired Yamaguchi, Tomosugi, and pinch hitter Kakunaka in three batters.

The batting lineup, which had struggled against opposing starter Mouri this season with a 0-2 record in three games, trailed by two runs in the fifth inning. With two outs and a runner on first, Watanabe hit an RBI doble to left-center field, bringing the score within one.Still trailing by one run in the sixth inning, with runners on base bases loaded and no outs, Kojima—who played on the same Meiji University team as opposing starter Mouri—hit a single to center field sacrifice fly to tie the game.