◆ 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.

Hayakawa, who was made the starting pitcher after a schedule change, threw pitch strike from the first inning and held the opponent runs through two innings. However, in the third inning, with two Walk, he walked a batter and then gave up a two-run homer to Masaki. It was a staggering hit with a low trajectory and a ball speed exceeding 180 km/h, giving up the first run. In the fourth inning, with a two-run deficit, he gave runs a run on a right-field RBI single to Yanagida with one out and a runner on third. He pitched well in the game, but was unable to secure the win.

The batting lineup struggled against Softbank Hawks 's starting pitcher, Kamichatani. In the first inning, with no outs and a hit on first, Sato hit a single to right-center field, and the runner on first, Nakajima, attempted to score, but was thrown out by a well-executed relay play by Softbank Hawks. The chance to score first was squandered. After that, they were at the mercy of the right-hander's pitch and closer runs for seven innings.