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

Nippon-Ham suffered a come-from-behind loss against Lotte on the 1st (at Escon Stadium), ending their four-game winning streak and dropping their leadoff hitter to 12 games. infielder Tatsuki Mizuno (26), who started as the starting line-up hitter and shortstop, hit a go-ahead solo home run to right field in the 3rd inning, his 8th of the season, surpassing his career high of 7 home runs in 2024 and 2025. In the 9th inning, he also created a scoring opportunity with a single to right field with two outs. He has maintained his good form with multi-hit hit in two consecutive games since the start of the second half of the season.

Mizuno perfectly timed the curveball coming in from his shoulder. It was the bottom of the third inning, two outs, no runner on base, with the score tied. He swung at a 121 km/h pitch from Lotte's starting pitcher Long. The ball bounced in the right field bullpen for his eighth home run of the season, giving his team the lead. "I reacted well and was able to get the bat on it nicely," he said, praising his own home run, which marked a career high, surpassing the seven home runs he hit in 2024 and 2025. "I'm happy, but my goal is 10. I want to hit double digits," he said, not satisfied.

He made his presence felt both offensively and defensively. In the ninth inning, trailing by two runs, he hit a single to right field with two runner and no runners on base, and reached base four times. hit multiple hits in three consecutive games since the final game of the first half of the season, and is making a resounding impact. He also made a series of excellent defense plays, saying, "There were times when I hesitated when playing defense. That was a waste," and is now showing his true potential on ground with decisive and confident plays.

His appearance in the All-Star Game created positive momentum. After being selected by fan vote, he got hit in both games, hit 3-At Bat-4 overall. "I realized that I can hit when it's not counting towards the season record," he said with a laugh, adding, "I was still playing baseball (during the All-Star break), so I think the gap in my feel for the game was minimal." He continued to rack up hits in the second half of the season without letting his strong performance in the first half of the season falter.

The team suffered a come-from-behind loss, ending their four-game winning streak. The close defeat was a painful blow as they chased after the league-leading Softbank Hawks Hawks. "If Fukushima gets hit, there's nothing we can do about it, so we'll win tomorrow," said Mizuno, shifting his focus. In this crucial summer for a potential championship comeback, they have a reliable leadoff hitter. (Yasushi Yamaguchi)