◆ Pacific League Rakuten Eagles Softbank Hawks (August 1st, Rakuten Eagles Mobile Saikyo Park Miyagi)

Rakuten Eagles lost to Softbank Hawks. They started the second half of the season with a loss, putting them 19 games behind, tying their worst record of the season.

The batting lineup struggled against Softbank Hawks 's starting pitcher, Kamichatani. They were baffled by the right-hander's pitch and were closer runs for seven innings. Manager Yoshii reflected, "None of the batters were swinging with full force, so I got the impression that my instructions might have actually gotten in the way. None of the batters were swinging with full force, so we'll rethink that and try again."

Missing a good opportunity in the first inning also had a lasting impact. With no outs and a runner on first, Sato hit a hit to right-center field, and Nakajima at runner first tried to score home, but was stopped by Softbank Hawks 's efficient play and was out. They got the first chance. Regarding the first inning's attack, the manager said, "That was a poor decision by the third base runner coach. Since it was no out, it was fine not to swing the ball," but added, "But third base runner coach is difficult. Since I'm leaving that to the third base coach, I can't blame that part," and did not criticize them.

Starting pitcher Hayakawa strike pitch the first inning and held the opponent runs through two innings. However, after giving up Walk with two outs in the third inning, he surrendered a two-run homer to Masaki. He was pulled from the game after six innings, having given up seven hit and three runs. He pitched a solid game but was unable to secure the win.

In his previous start, the manager had criticized Hayakawa's pitch at the beginning of the game. On this day, the left-hander got off to a good start, and Manager Yoshii commented, "He started well. After that, he got into trouble, but in the third inning, he walked the ninth walk and then gave up home run to the leadoff batter, and that just happened because of the flow of the game. I'm worried about the drop in his velocity, but other than that, it was a quality start for a pitcher who started like that. From the way the game was going, it might have looked like a bad pitching performance, but I think he did his best."