◆ Pacific League Seibu Lions 7-1 Lotte (16th, Belluna Dome)

Seibu Lions ・ Natsuki Takeuchi pitcher pitched 6 2/3 innings, allowing 5 strike out, 3 hit, and no runs to earn his ninth win. “I was able to pitch with confidence, and I think I left a bad impression on the opposing team,” he said, expressing his satisfaction with his performance.

In the first inning, he let off the leadoff pitcher Fujiwara with a 147 km/h fastball, struck out, and then Nishikawa and Yasuda started with swinging struck out and missing. In the second and third innings, all three were retired in order.

In the fourth inning, with one out, Nishikawa hit a single to left hit, the first hit of the day, but he got Yasuda to hit into a double double play to get out of the inning. He retired Walk in hit in the fifth inning as well. In the sixth inning, with one out, he walked a batter and gave up a hit, putting runners on first and second with one out, the first time he had runner in scoring position, but he got Fujiwara to hit a line drive to the shortstop and Nishikawa to ground out to second base, preventing any runs from scoring.

In the seventh inning, he created a dangerous situation with no outs and runners on Walk and second base after giving up a walk and hit, but he prevented any runs from scoring, including closer Soto to fly out to center field. After there were two outs and runners on first and second base, he handed mound over to the second pitcher, Moriwaki.

With this win, he's now just one win away from reaching double digits (10 wins), a milestone he achieved as a rookie in 2024. However, the left-hander said, "I'm not going to worry about it too much. I just want to focus on winning the game in front of me." He reiterated his determination, saying, "I want to pitch in a way that allows me to control the game and closer outs when it matters most."