On August 18, in the 18th round match between Hokkaido Nippon-Ham and Fukuoka Softbank held in ES CON FIELD, Fukuoka Softbank won convincingly 7-1.

Fukuoka Softbank was in the top of the second inning, with one out, Yuki Yanagita and Taisei Makihara hit consecutive hits. Then, with Akira Kawase Walk to make it bases loaded, Takashi Umino hit a sacrifice fly to take the lead. In the bottom of the second inning, Fukuoka Softbank starter Moinelo pitcher gave up a game-tying solo home run to Reyes, but the lineup quickly regained control.

In the top of the third inning, with a 1-1 score, Tomoya Masaki, Ukyo Shuto, and Kensuke Kondo hit three consecutive hits to take the lead 3-1. In another chance, Yuki Yanagita hit a timely hit and Kawase's sacrifice fly added more runs. In the middle of the game, they kept up their offensive momentum, steadily widening the gap with Taisei Makihara 's timely doble in the top of the 5th and Tomoya Masaki 's 20th solo in the top of the 6th.

Moinero pitcher, supported by support, recorded three consecutive struck out in the bottom of the fourth inning and did not allow a single runner from the fourth onward. "I think we created a pitch that led to the team's win. I'm glad we had a good pitch in such an important game," he said, throwing 98 pitches over six innings, pitching 2 hit 1 Walk 7 strike out 1 runs. In the final stages of the game, he held on with a relievering pitching to hold on without any trouble.

Fukuoka Softbank won two straight games with double-digit hit in three games. Kondo posted a 3-hit 2 RBI and Makihara Dai 3-hit 1 RBI, with five players performing in multi-hit performances. Starting pitcher Moinelo pitcher earned his second win of the season.

The losing Hokkaido Nippon-Ham saw starter Hiromi Ito pitcher leave after three innings, the shortest of the season. They suffered their eighth loss of the season with 7 hit 1 Walk 5 runs (earned runs 4). The batting lineup was also lackluster, taking three hit, including a home run by Reyes.

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So ○Moinelo-Hernandez-Gota Suzuki-Yusuke Ito
Japan ● Hiromi Ito-Kenta Uehara- Rao -Tsubasa Namatame-Nao Miyanishi

Text by Ayako Kikuchi