Pacific League: Orix Buffaloes 0-2 Softbank Hawks (28th, Kyocera Dome Osaka)

Softbank Hawks 's magic number for winning the championship has dropped to 20. pitcher Yugo Maeda pitched seven scoreless innings, runs only four hit, and extended his undefeated streak to 11 games since the start of the season, tying him for the league lead with this win. After escaping a bases-loaded situation with two bases loaded in the first inning, he allowed only one hit from the second inning onward. In the seventh inning, immediately after his teammates missed an opportunity to score with a runner on third and no outs, he said, "I felt the momentum was shifting to the opponent, so I put in extra effort. I changed the way I pitched from the first to the sixth inning," and he shifted gears, closing out the inning with three consecutive outs.

Manager Hiroki Kokubo's first words were, "Today was all about Yugo." He particularly emphasized the pitches in the 7th inning, saying "Every pitch was at max effort," and highly praised his ability to read the flow of the game, saying, "He has a good baseball brain. He's only in his third year, but he's developed the presence of a core player."