On September 12, the 22nd game between Fukuoka Softbank and Chiba Lotte Marines held at MIZUHO PayPay Dome ended in a 5-4 win for Fukuoka Softbank, marking their 5th consecutive victory.

Fukuoka Softbank's starting pitcher Rutledge allowed a lead in the first inning due to Kyota Fujiwara 's 8th solo home run, but from the second inning onwards, despite giving up hits, he calmly retired the following batters for no runs. He finished his first appearance in Japan with 5 innings, 68 pitches, 5 hits, no walks or Hit by Pitch, 4 strike outs, and 1 run.

The batting lineup turned the game around in the bottom of the 1st inning while trailing by one run with Ryoya Kurihara 's 2-run timely doble. In the bottom of the 3rd, Kensuke Kondo hit his 27th 2-run home run and Taisei Makihara hit a timely hit, giving them a 4-run lead.

In the top of the 7th, the third pitcher Yuki Tsumori gave up Kota Inoue 's 6th solo home run, but in the top of the 8th, Yuki Matsumoto held them scoreless. In the top of the 9th, Kazuki Sugiyama was closed to a one-run difference by Misho Nishikawa 's timely hit, but he held the lead, and the game ended 5-4. Starting pitcher Rutledge earned his first win in Japan, and closer Sugiyama recorded his 31st save, tying his personal best.

The losing Chiba Lotte Marines' starting pitcher Kazuya Ojima pitched through 7 innings despite giving up 5 runs early on, but the batting lineup fell one hit short in the final stages, resulting in a series loss.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Total
M 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 4
H 2 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 X 5

M ●Kazuya Ojima-Naoya Masuda
H ○Rutledge-Hernandez-Yuki Tsumori-Yuki Matsumoto-S Kazuki Sugiyama

Text by Aoi Nemoto