Pacific League: Lotte 2-4 Softbank Hawks (27th, ZOZO Marine)

With a two-run lead in the ninth inning, Softbank Hawks 's Kazuki Sugiyama took the mound and retired the side in order, earning his 25th save. On the 26th, the team had given up the same two-run lead and lost in extra inning innings. walk-off injured his right ankle during practice on the 22nd, and the previous day was his first appearance since the injury. Before the game, manager Kokubo called the right-hander into his office to check his condition and encouraged him by saying, "He's going to pitch again today." "baseball is so interesting. It was exactly the same scenario, and Sugiyama closed it out. That calmed me down a bit," he said, adding that the magic number for winning the championship is now 21.

Sugiyama, who successfully redeemed himself, expressed his gratitude to the manager, saying, "Honestly, I thought I was going to be cut. I injured my ankle in practice, and I even started to think it might be better if I were left out, so I'm grateful the manager told me he would still give me a chance."