◆ Pacific League Rakuten Eagles Seibu Lions (19th, Rakuten Eagles Mobile Saikyo Park Miyagi)

Seibu Lions snapped their two-game losing streak and reached their 50th win of the season, placing them third in the league. They tied the series at 1-1, keeping their hopes alive for a third consecutive series win.

In the third inning, with neither team having scored yet and one out and a runner on second, Manaya Nishikawa outfielder hit an RBI single to center field to give his team the lead. With one out and runners on first and second, first-round draft pick Taiga Kojima catcher hit his fourth home run of the season—a three-run shot—and the team scored four runs in a single inning.Kojima hit his fourth career home run Home Run, marking a solo shot, a two-run homer, a three-run homer, and a bases loaded—thereby achieving a “cycle Home Run.”

In the seventh inning, with a one-run lead, Nishikawa hit another RBI triple to right-center field with no outs and a runner on second, and then Kojima hit sacrifice fly to center field with one out and a runner on third, adding two more runs.

Starting pitcher Kosei Takahashi threw 100 pitches over six innings, strike out five, allowing six hit and three runs, earning his eighth win of the season, his first since the game against The Giants on June 12th (at Belluna Dome).

In the first inning, he faced a jam with two outs and runners on second and third base, but closer Murabayashi to ground out to the shortstop to start without runs. In the second inning, he retired the side in order, but in the bottom of the third inning, after his teammates had taken a 4-0 lead, he gave up consecutive hits to put runners on first and third base with no outs, and then gave up a 3-run homer to YG Yasuda, his second of the season. He threw 34 pitches in that inning, making it a high-pitch appearance.