◆ Pacific League Nippon-Ham 6-2 Rakuten Eagles (26th, ES CON FIELD)

Rakuten Eagles lost to Nippon-Ham, suffering their second consecutive defeat.

They took control from the start. Starter Takinaka allowed a runner to score in the first inning with one out and a runner on third, allowing Reyes to score a grounder to third and giving up the first run. He couldn't fully adjust that after that. This season, he maintained a stable pitch, but 5 runs in 5 innings. 5 Walk was not the pitch typical for a right-hander. Manager Yoshii said of Takinaka, "Today wasn't very good. I did my best. Looking from the bench, the stadium was small and there were many home run batters, so maybe I was a bit too careful today. Even though it wasn't a crisis, I pitched like it was a real crisis, and maybe it actually didn't go well. It wasn't his usual pitching style, was it?" he said.

The offense had a few hits, including Asamura's 8th solo home run in the 2nd inning and McCusker's 13th solo home run in the 6th, but they lacked cohesion. Asamura had three hit that day, showing signs of recovery. The manager expressed his expectations, saying, "He had a good swing from the start, and he swung well in his subsequent at-bats as well. He's a player we need to improve even more, so I hope he continues at this pace."

Asamura made a delightful sound, but there were also painful base running errors. In the sixth inning with two outs and a runner on first, Shigenaga hit a dropping hit to right field, but Asamura, who was runner first, overran halfway around second base, and there was a moment when he was tagged out between second and third. The manager said, "When I asked (Asamura) himself, he said, 'I thought he caught it,' but that's something we really need to check carefully before running. That doesn't matter whether he's a veteran or a young player, so next time, I want him to focus and play hard," he tightened up.

After two consecutive losses, they are now 18 games behind. They finished the first half of the season in last place.