◆ Pacific League Softbank Hawks 1-0 Nippon-Ham (April 4th, Kyocera Dome Osaka)

Nippon-Ham lost to league leaders Softbank Hawks, bringing their head-to-head record to 2 wins and 13 losses. The gap between them widened to 7.5 games, and their lead in the standings decreased to 12 games.

The game was held at the former home stadium of the Nankai Hawks, Osaka (Kyocera Dome), as a "Nankai The Hawks throwback night." Softbank Hawks wore throwback uniforms and the game was played with the cheering songs of that era, creating a unique atmosphere, but they suffered a close 0-1 defeat. This marks the seventh consecutive loss for Softbank Hawks in away games this season.

Starting pitcher Ito pitched a strong game, striking out eight struck out through five innings and runs at 0-0. However, in the sixth inning, with doble tied 0-0, he gave up a double to Yanagida to right-center field, followed by a fly ball to right field by Makihara Dai, putting a runner on third with one out. He then allowed the first run on sacrifice fly by Yamamoto Yu. He threw 98 pitches over seven innings, giving up eight hit and one runs, and suffered his sixth loss of the season.

The offense was shut down by opposing starter Uwasawa, managing only 5 hit over 7 innings and failing to score. They were thwarted by the champions' impenetrable defense, including a great play by second baseman Makihara Dai.