Overview

• In the latest loss to DeNA, starter Wakui issued a bases-loaded walk and later yielded a go-ahead three-run homer to Tsutsugo, taking his sixth defeat as the skid reached three and second-place hopes were extinguished.
• Commentator Yamamoto pointed to a September pitching collapse and bullpen leaks that failed to bridge to closer Matsuyama, undercutting earlier momentum.
• At the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Nanako Fujii took bronze in the women’s 20km race walk in 1:26:18, lowering her own Japanese record and becoming the first Japanese woman to reach the podium in the event at worlds or the Olympics.
• Takefusa Kubo started for Real Sociedad in a 1–3 defeat at Real Betis, extending the club’s run to three straight losses and five league matches without a win.
• J1 side Vissel Kobe announced the acquisition of former Japan goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda, adding the 36-year-old after his stint in Hungary.