◆Pacific League: Lotte 10-4 Rakuten Eagles (9th, ZOZO)

Rakuten Eagles suffered a come-from-behind loss to Lotte, marking their fifth consecutive defeat. Their deficit has ballooned to a season-worst 29 games below .500.

Although he received four runs of support early on, the starter Shoji struggled. He gave up a solo home run to Sato leading off the second inning. Furthermore, in the fourth, he allowed three runs, including RBI hits to Ogawa and Inoue, allowing the opponent to tie the game. He left the mound after six innings, having allowed seven hits and four runs. He was unable to secure his eighth win of the season.

Manager Masato Yoshii commented on the right-hander's pitch while leading. He pointed out, "I've seen this kind of game several times since I came to The Eagles. I've seen games where the team scored runs for Shoji in the early innings, but eventually the opponent caught up, the lead narrowed, and the game was overturned at the end. I wonder if he has a habit of becoming a bit defensive. In those moments, his pitching gets a little off. I think it comes down to him realizing that and figuring out how to improve it."

After being caught up in the fourth inning, the manager himself spoke to Shoji in the dugout. 'He was getting beaten in the same way every time. I sent him back out there, telling him to go out and grasp something.' After receiving that direct encouragement, he pitched two inning without runs starting from the fifth. Manager Yoshii said, 'I think it was good that he ultimately closer them to zero, but what matters is what he felt there. That is the important part, so I want to talk to him again tomorrow,' hoping he would learn from the experience.