◆ Pacific League Nippon-Ham 8-2 Seibu Lions (13th, ES CON FIELD)

Nippon-Ham scored effectively and secured a decisive victory. They ended their two-game losing streak and closed the gap to zero games behind second-place Seibu Lions.

In the first inning, with two outs and runners on first and third, they scored the first run with a double steal, and then Gunji hit a two-run homer to right field, his fifth of the season, giving them a 3-0 lead. In the fifth inning, they launched a fierce offensive, scoring five runs with every hitter coming to the plate, and sealed the victory.

Manager Shinjo responded through the team, saying, "When we win a game by a large margin, the fans are waiting to hear the feelings of the players who performed well, rather than comments from the manager, so please listen to them."

However, even amidst the big win, it seemed to have been bothering him, as he uncharacteristically added a critical remark at the end of his comments: "But, (Yamazaki) Fukuya's Walk was unacceptable. I think he's regretting it."

Despite allowing runner on base, Yamazaki pitch tenaciously, giving up 6 hit 2 runs in 5 innings, earning his 5th win of the season. However, in the 2nd inning, immediately after his team took the lead, he walked Yamamura with one Walk, which ultimately led to runs.