Lindsay Gulin started for Daiei and needed 96 pitches to get through 3.2 innings, his shortest outing of the year, such was the extent of his difficulty getting his command locked in. He was ultimately charged with four runs on eight hits. Instead, the shiroboshi went to Akichika Yamada, who has been superb in relief so far, after he delivered three perfect innings before Koji Mise posted the save in the ninth. 

Shunsuke Watanabe started for Lotte and his pitch movement left a lot to be desired. He was done up for five runs, four earned, on five hits
in four innings to get hung with the defeat. 

Daiei surged out to an early lead, as Watanabe plunked shortstop Munenori Kawasaki with one out in the first and leftfielder Pedro Valdez drilled one into the leftcenterfield seats to make it 2-0.

Gulin, after a perfect first, survived a bases loaded, two out jam in the second. Watanabe, though, would be rocked again in that frame. With one out, centerfielder Hiroshi Shibahara singled to left and rightfielder Kazuyuki Takahashi crashed a shot off the rightfield wall for a double. Third baseman Mitsuru Honma flew out to center and Shibahara tagged up and crossed. Iguchi grounded to third baseman Matt Franco, who threw it away and Takahashi sped in for a 4-0 advantage. 

Gulin had the bags packed again in the third with two outs and again extricated himself without any damage. But he collapsed in the fourth. 
Rightfielder Saburo Omura walked. One out later, shortstop Makoto Kosaka singled to left. Centerfielder Akira Otsuka laced a double up the rightcenter alley and Omura scored easily while the speedster Kosaka did his Juan Pierre imitation and jetted to the plate on the double. Otsuka went to third on a groundout. First baseman Kazuya Fukuura singled to center to cut it to 4-3. Leftfielder Benny Agbayani singled to left and that was all for Gulin. Makoto Sato ascended the hill and Franco singled to left to redeem Fukuura and knot it at 4-4. 

The Hawks, however, swooped in for the deciding tally in the home portion. Shibahara seared a one out double to leftcenter. Takahashi walked. Honma singled to center to load the bases. Second baseman Tadahito Iguchi flew out to center and Shibahara tagged up and hustled
across and Daiei was up 5-4. 

Omura was hit by a pitch and worked his way to third on a couple of subsequent groundouts in the fifth, but Otsuka flied out to spoil that opportunity. Lotte's offense then went into shutdown mode through the eighth thanks to Yamada.

Mise came on for the ninth and and obtained two quick outs. Agbayani singled to left to put the tying run on. But Franco popped up to shortstop and that was the ballgame.