◆ Pacific League Seibu Lions 3-7 Softbank Hawks (24th, Belluna Dome)

Softbank Hawks showcased their strength in a direct confrontation with second-place Seibu Lions. At the heart of their offense that day was cleanup hitter Kurihara. In the fourth inning, with no outs and runners on first and third, trailing by one run, he swung at Watanabe's first pitch, thinking, "At worst, it'll be sacrifice fly," and the ball soared into the left-center field stands. It was a three-run homer, making him the first player in both leagues to reach 30 home runs. "I never thought about it before the season started," he said, surprised and delighted.

The team captain, whose career high was 21 home runs in 2021, has now joined the ranks of hitter who have graced baseball history. Reaching 30 home runs is the fastest in the team's history across both leagues since Yamakawa in 2024, but reaching the milestone before the All-Star break is the first time in 21 years since Matsunaka (Chunichi hitting coach) in 2005. All five players (six times) who have reached the milestone the fastest in the past have gone on to win Home Run title. Kurihara himself doesn't get too caught up in the numbers, saying he just wants "as many as possible," but manager Kokubo urged him to "be ambitious and aim for it," calling on him to produce even more home runs to break the 40-home run mark.

With a two-run lead in the seventh inning with one out and a runner on third, Kondo hit his 23rd home run of the season, a two-run shot, securing a comfortable victory while keeping Matsumoto and Sugiyama, the team's two key hitters, on the bench. The team demonstrated their overall strength in the sixth game of a nine-game series, a road game, and the manager praised them, saying, "Everyone did a great job." The gap between them and second place is now a season-high 5.5 games, solidifying their position as the league leaders. (Tosei Moriguchi)

◇The fastest pace in the Pacific League since Okawari-kun

Kurihara (SoftBank) reached 30 home runs, the fastest in both leagues. The first player from each team to reach 30 home runs in both leagues is ([Home Runs] indicates Home Run that year, ★ indicates Home Run champion).

Annual hitter [Home Runs]

57 years Katsuya Nomura 30★

1962 Katsuya Nomura 44★

63 years Katsuya Nomura 52★

1988 Hiroaki Kadota 44★

2005 Nobuhiko Matsunaka 46★

24th year, Hotaka Yamakawa 34 years old ★

Ryoya Kurihara in 2026?

This is the fifth time for a player to achieve this feat, and the seventh time overall. In the previous six instances, the player was Home Run king. Furthermore, hitting 30 home runs before the All-Star break is the first time since Munetaka Murakami (Yakult) in 2022, the first time in the Pacific League since Takeya Nakamura (Seibu) in 2009, and the first time for the team since Matsunaka in 2005.