◆ Pacific League: Nippon-Ham 2-1 Softbank Hawks (1st, ES CON FIELD)

Nippon-Ham won a close game, marking their third five-game winning streak of the season. In the game against the first-place Softbank Hawks, with the score tied 1-1 in the eighth inning and two outs with a runner on third, substitute Castro hit a game-winning RBI single to center, resulting in a 2-1 win. This brought their record to a season-high 15 games over .500.

After the game, Manager Shinjo highly praised starter Yamazaki, who kept the game competitive by allowing only 3 hits and 1 runs over 90 pitches in 7 innings. 'Today was all about Sachiya (Yamazaki). He went head-to-head with Moinelo. Although he didn't get the win, he pitched as if he had already won. I'll give him the highest possible rating in his evaluation (laughs).' In his previous outing on August 20th, he also held the powerful Softbank Hawks lineup to 3 hits and 1 runs over 6 innings, marking two consecutive quality starts against the champions. 'The double plays are great, aren't they? From a batter's perspective, he seems easy to hit. But there's a slight movement just before contact, which leads to those ground balls. That's his strength,' Shinjo said, praising and expressing gratitude for the veteran left-hander's pitch craft.