On the 16th, Nippon-Ham lose to Softbank Hawks 2-6 in their game at Escon F. The CS Fuji TV ONE program "Pro baseball News 2026," which aired that day, reviewed Nippon-Ham 's first half of the season against Softbank Hawks.

Commentator Kenji Tomashino stated his opinion, saying, "They need to close the gap as much as possible (for the second half of the season). The reason they've achieved these results so far is that Softbank Hawks has been aware from the start of the season that Nippon-Ham is their biggest rival this year and that they need to be careful, based on last year's results."

He continued, "I think that was the mindset they had from the opening game, and that's how they started their direct confrontation. Softbank Hawks plays the game in that way."

☆ Cooperation: Fuji TV ONE "Professional baseball News 2026"