◆ Pacific League Nippon-Ham 5-5 Softbank Hawks (12 extra inning) (20th, ES CON FIELD)

The unbeatable left-hander’s good fortune transferred to the bat. Softbank Hawks Trailing by four runs in the eighth inning with no outs bases loaded, Kurihara hit his 33rd grand slam to tie the game. “Yugo (Maeda) was also giving it his all, so I’m glad I could make up for the loss home run,” he said, bringing the game back to a tie with a confident swing.

A valuable draw that reduced the team's magic number. Starting pitcher Yugo Maeda, who was pulled after giving up 3 runs in 5 innings, had his loss erased and his undefeated 10-game winning streak since the start of the season continued. "There's something special about Yugo. A draw after a complete defeat," said manager Kokubo, who was in high spirits despite the fatigue of the 4-hour and 34-minute all-out battle.

Kurihara surpassed his career high of 87 RBI from 2024 with his 90th RBI. He also easily surpassed Kondo's 89, and grinned, saying, "I was saying in the dugout, 'He's overtaken me!' So I'm glad." With this, he leads both leagues in Home Run RBI and RBIs. He is ambitious and aims to win both titles, saying, "I want to score even more RBI." (Koichiro Shimao)