◆Pacific League: Softbank Hawks 2-0 Seibu Lions (5th, Mizuho PayPay Dome)

A painful consecutive loss in the direct confrontation with the first-place Softbank Hawks. The game gap has widened to seven.

Despite facing the opponent's starter Ohtsu for the fifth time this season, the lineup remained silent with only four hits and no runs, failing once again to hand him a loss. In the third inning, with a runner on second and one out, Hasegawa and Kojima were retired. In the fourth inning, with a runner on second and no outs, Takeya Nakamura and An-Ko Lin struck out back-to-back; although they created opportunities, home plate remained out of reach.

Starting pitcher Chihiro Sumida took his seventh loss after allowing 2 runs on 6 hits over 7 innings, as the lineup failed to provide run support. Manager Nishiguchi did not blame the left-hander for his strong effort, stating, 'Sumida pitched well. It was a nice pitching performance. He pitched firmly and with great patience.' He then added, 'We were overpowered. We couldn't adjust to Otsu's change of pace. We can't afford to let them pull away, so we just have to keep fighting. I want to find a way to get them back tomorrow,' vowing to seek revenge in the final head-to-head matchup on the 6th.