◆ Pacific League: Lotte 5-3 Nippon-Ham (August 1st, ES CON FIELD)

In the ninth inning, with the score tied, Lotte took the lead on Toshiya Sato catcher 's 12th two-run homer, kicking off August with a win.

Sato had a poor batting average of .191 in July, and after the All-Star break, he started on the bench for two consecutive games. In the 6th inning, with two outs and runners on second and third after the team had tied the game, he was brought in as a pinch hitter, but he hit a fly ball to center field, missing the chance to take the lead. In the 9th inning, with no outs and a runner on first, he came up to bat for the second time in the game and hit a game-winning home run.

Sato, who is generally regarded as catcher can hit, hit the game-winning home run. After the game, manager Saburo grinned and said, "It's been a while since he hit such a good ball." However, he admitted that he "didn't think he could hit" when he brought him in as a pinch hitter in the sixth inning.

"I don't think I can hit as a pinch hitter. (Pinch-hitting success) is really difficult," said the manager. Later, in the defense of catcher, in a tense late moment, he gave the pitcher a hard lead and hit the game-winning homer. He said, "He stood up for the first inning, played the field, and got into rhythm, which led to that batting. At first, he was really slow. I really think rhythm is important," he explained Sato's hit from a unique perspective.