◆ Pacific League Softbank Hawks 22-2 Orix Buffaloes (22nd, Mizuho PayPay Dome)

Orix Buffaloes pitcher collapsed, and by the 90th game, the possibility of winning on their own was gone. They allowed a season-worst 26 hit, and 22 runs was the first humiliation in 10 years since Game Softbank Hawks on May 24, 2016 (at Yafuoku Dome). Starting pitcher Katayama was pulled after only 13 pitches and 4 runs without recording a single out, followed by a barrage of heavy fire, with Hiroshi hitting 3 runs, Yamaoka hitting 2 runs, Saito hitting 7 runs, and Tajima hitting 6 runs.

Manager Mamoru Kishida apologized, saying, "It was a tough game. The first thing is that it was a game that made me feel sorry for the fans." "Today is a relief day, so if there was a kid who felt a bit nervous, I was talking about immediately substituting him. The only one who managed to stop the pitcher was Saiki (the fifth pitcher and no runs), right? The reality is that the other pitcher couldn't stop him. With a shortage of starters in the gap, this is what really happened... That's the situation," he said with a frown.

The team suffered a crushing defeat that left a bad taste in everyone's mouth, dropping their winning percentage back to 50% in just one day. The manager appealed to the players, saying, "The only thing I want to hear is what pitcher who were beaten today think about it and how they will approach things next time. Tomorrow, we need to switch gears, and since Yamaguchi is pitching, I want them to go all out and give it their all."