◆ Pacific League: Lotte 1-0 Seibu Lions (1st, ZOZO Marine)

Seibu Lions pitcher Kaima Taira delivered a strong performance, allowing only 1 runs over 7 innings to reclaim the top spot in the Pacific League with a 1.45 ERA, but he missed out on his 11th win due to a lack of run support. This marks their fourth consecutive loss at ZOZO. Manager Fumiya Nishiguchi cited the cause of the defeat, stating, 'I think the pitcher was good. On the hitting side, we couldn't put pressure on the opponent's starter, Takano, and let him pitch at his own pace.'

After allowing a Walk to the leadoff hitter Fujiwara in the first inning and giving a Hit by Pitch to Sato with two outs, he faced a crisis with runners on first and second, eventually giving up the opening run after allowing an RBI single to center by Yasuda.

From the second inning onwards, he showcased a pitch that tightened up in key moments despite allowing runners. In the fifth inning, he gave up a triple down the right-field line to the lead-off batter Ogawa, but he managed to get through it by getting Ueda, Chatani, and Fujiwara to swing and miss for three consecutive struck out.

In the sixth inning, he faced another crisis with two outs and runners on first and second, but Tonosaki made a fine play to snag Terachi's grounder that looked like it would head through center field, saving the situation.

The lineup was held scoreless through seven innings, unable to break through against Takano while being struck out swinging eight times. They were then shut down by Suzuki in the eighth and the closer Yokoyama in the ninth. The manager reflected, "The ball was breaking in the upper zone more than expected, so it might have been difficult to narrow down the target. Even so, we weren't really driving the fastballs either. In terms of selecting pitches, even when we did, we weren't able to adjust properly."