◆Pacific League: Rakuten Eagles 3-6 Nippon-Ham (6th, Rakuten Mobile Park Miyagi)

For the Rakuten Eagles, pitcher Ryota Takinaka struggled, giving up 9 hits and 6 runs while being pulled in the middle of the 6th inning, and the team suffered three consecutive losses in the same series. Manager Masato Yoshii defended the right-hander, saying, 'Regarding the 6th inning, we were a bit late in making the substitution. Takinaka did his best.'

In the first inning, Tatsumi hit a two-run timely hit off Arihara to give the team a good early lead, but they were unable to follow through. 'It's quite difficult (to hit) in prime scoring opportunities. I think getting a hit is hard, but there are other ways to score runs. I say this all the time, but we just can't seem to produce that kind of batting. It might be that they are overthinking it and the opposite is happening. I really need to talk to the players and think about whether there is a better approach,' he said, pointing out the response of the hitters with runners in scoring position.

Furthermore, despite getting 11 hits and 4 walks/Hit by Pitches, they were held to only 3 points. The lack of efficiency was also prominent. "We got 3 or 4 walks, yet that was the score difference. If you call it a difference in extra-base hits, then it is a difference in extra-base hits. Even so, we should have been able to score more points. We will do our best," he reflected.

When asked what he expects from his players in the remaining 21 games, Manager Yoshii said, "I'll be satisfied as long as they just give it their all."