Six interleague games were played in professional baseball, and Lotte won two consecutive games to move up to the top spot in the Pacific League, replacing Orix. The Central League is in first place, second with Hanshin, and the gap between DeNA and DeNA has narrowed to 6.2.
Lotte vs Yakult
In the Lotte vs Yakult match, Lotte won 3-2.
○ Wins: Castillo pitchers 1 win and 1 loss.
Savings: Masuda pitched 15 saves.
- Losses: Cy Snead pitcher 4 wins and 3 losses.
◎ Home run: Lotte Nakamura Shogo No. 4 Yakult Murakami No. 11.
Lotte opened the scoring in the third inning on Shogo Nakamura's solo shot in the fourth, followed by a timely run by Toshiya Sato in the sixth and an error by the opponent in the seventh.
Castillo, the starting pitcher, pitched seven scoreless innings to earn his first win in Japan.
Yakult's starting pitcher, Cy Snead, gave up two runs in the sixth inning, and Murakami's two-run double in the ninth was not enough.
Orix vs. Giants
The Orix vs. Giants went into 10 innings, with the Giants winning 6-0.
○ Wins: Nakagawa pitcher wins 1.
- Loss: Honda pitcher 1 win 1 loss.
◎ Home runs: Giant Maru No. 6, Walker No. 6.
The Giants took a 0-0 lead in the 10th inning when pinch hitter Maru hit a bases-loaded home run with two outs and scored six runs in the inning on Walker's two-run homer.
Starting pitcher Iori Yamazaki pitched eight scoreless innings, and the second pitcher, Nakagawa, earned his first win in two seasons.
Orix starter Yamaoka held the team scoreless in seven innings, but the fourth pitcher, Honda, collapsed.
SoftBank vs DeNA
In SoftBank vs. DeNA, DeNA won 6-5.
○ Wins: Katsuki Higashi 6 wins and 2 losses.
Saves: Yamazaki pitcher 3 losses and 14 saves.
- Loss: Mori pitcher 1 win 1 loss.
◎ Home runs: SoftBank Kurihara No. 7, Kondo No. 6.
DeNA scored three runs in the first inning on back-to-back timely hits by Maki and Austin.
In the third inning, Kuwabara scored two runs on a timely grounder and added one more run in the fifth.
Starting pitcher Katsuki Azuma gave up three runs in the middle of the eighth inning to earn his sixth win, ending DeNA's losing streak at three.
SoftBank's starting pitcher, Mori, gave up five runs in the middle of the third inning, and the batting line caught up, but it was not enough.
Japan Ham vs Hiroshima
Japan Ham vs Hiroshima was won by Hiroshima 7-2.
○ Wins: Corniel pitcher 1 win and 4 losses.
●Losses: Uezawa pitcher 5 wins and 4 losses.
◎ Home run: Hiroshima, Tanaka No. 4.
Hiroshima trailed 0-1 in the third inning on Kikuchi's timely two-base error, and in the fifth inning, Noma's two-run error gave them a three-run lead.
In the ninth inning, Tanaka's three-run fourth extended the lead.
Starting pitcher Corniel gave up two runs in seven innings for the first time in two seasons.
Hiroshima has won three consecutive matches on the same card. Japan Ham didn't get a hit after the third inning.
Seibu vs. Chunichi
In Seibu vs. Chunichi, Chunichi won 8-2.
○ Wins: Yanagi pitcher 2 wins and 4 losses.
- Loss: Miyagawa pitcher 1 win 1 loss.
◎ Home runs: Chunichi Ukai No. 2, Hosokawa No. 6. Seibu Watanabe Kento No. 1.
Chunichi scored three runs in the first inning on Hosokawa's two-run double and scored five runs in the second on Ukai's two-run double.
Hosokawa had three hits, including a home run, and three RBIs.
Starting pitcher Yanagi pitched a complete game for the first time this season and earned his second win, allowing two runs.
Seibu pitcher Miyagawa gave up six runs in five innings.
Rakuten vs Hanshin
In the Rakuten vs. Hanshin match, Rakuten came from behind to win 6-4.
○ Wins: 3 wins and 1 loss for pitchers.
●Loss: Yuasa pitcher 1 loss and 7 saves.
◎ Home run: Rakuten Kofukada No. 3.
Rakuten tied the game 3-4 in the ninth inning with two outs and Kofukada hit a three-run triple in the third.
Rakuten's fourth pitcher earned his third win.
Hanshin, who were scoreless until the sixth inning, came back to take the lead in the ninth inning thanks to an error by their opponents in the seventh and eighth innings, but Yuasa was hit by a pitcher.