Nippon-Ham Fighters finish regular season with losing record against SoftBank

The Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters concluded their regular season against the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks with a significant losing record of 5 wins, 18 losses, and 2 draws. Following a 2-3 defeat on October 10 at Mizuho PayPay Dome, Fighters manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo expressed his intent to seek revenge during the postseason Climax Series.

Shinjo acknowledged the strength of the Hawks, stating there are many aspects of their play to emulate. Despite the seasonal deficit, he emphasized that short-series formats are different and expressed a desire to challenge the Hawks in the playoffs. Commentators Kenji Tomashino and Tomohiro Sakaguchi noted the team's overall struggle against SoftBank but expressed interest in seeing how Shinjo utilizes tactical shifts and pitcher management to overcome the gap in future matchups.