◆ Pacific League Lotte 5-3 Seibu Lions (April 4th, ZOZO Marine Stadium)

Lotte's Naoya Masuda pitcher reached 250 career saves. His fellow townsman, Seibu Lions Manager Nishiguchi, and former teammate Taiga Hirasawa infielder congratulated the right-hander.

The manager, who hails from the same Wakayama prefecture as Masuda, praised his junior, saying, "He has steadily accumulated saves up to this point, and I think 250 saves is a truly wonderful result. I believe it is the result of his hard work, so I sincerely want to say 'congratulations'." However, with this loss, Seibu Lions 's chances of winning the championship on their own were eliminated. The opposing manager looked back regretfully, saying, "I wanted to somehow prevent that from happening before then."

Hirasawa, who transferred from Lotte through the active player draft, said, "Although we were opponents today, I am happy for him in achieving this record. He is a senior player who has helped me a lot, so I would like to congratulate him. I would like to show him how much I have grown, and I think this is just a stepping stone, so I hope he will continue to increase his saves." He offered his praise to his senior who achieved the great feat.