FUKUOKA (Interstat) — Jackson Rutledge allowed one earned run over five innings, and the SoftBank Hawks withstood a late Lotte Marines charge for a 5-4 victory Saturday afternoon, Sept. 12, 2026, at Fukuoka Yahuoku! Dome. The game drew an announced crowd of 39,894 and took 2 hours, 58 minutes. SoftBank finished with 10 hits, while Lotte had nine. Rutledge, the winning pitcher, improved to 1-0 after yielding five hits and striking out four. Kazuya Ojima took the loss for Lotte, falling to 5-9 after he worked seven innings and allowed five earned runs on 10 hits with five walks and six strikeouts. Kazuki Sugiyama earned the save, his 31st of the season. SoftBank improved to 80-46-3, while Lotte dropped to 58-64-3.

Lotte opened the scoring in the top of the first. Koki Yamaguchi flew out to center for the first out before Kyota Fujiwara homered to right. Misho Nishikawa struck out looking and Toshiya Satoh struck out swinging to end the inning. SoftBank answered in the bottom half. Tomoya Masaki struck out swinging, but Ukyo Shuto walked and Kensuke Kondoh walked. Ryoya Kurihara doubled to right-center, scoring two runs. Yuki Yanagita was hit by a pitch, and Hotaka Yamakawa struck out swinging to end the inning with SoftBank ahead 2-1.

Lotte put together a threat in the second. Hisanori Yasuda flew out to right before Ryusei Terachi and Ryusei Ogawa singled to shallow center. Kouta Inoue popped out to the catcher, and Ryusei Miyazaki flew out to left, leaving two runners on base. SoftBank could not add to its lead in the bottom of the second. Taisei Makihara singled to shallow left, but Yuudai Yamamoto struck out swinging, Hikaru Kawase grounded out to the pitcher and Masaki struck out swinging.

SoftBank broke the game open in the third. Shuto singled to shallow left and Kondoh followed with a two-run home run to center. Kurihara walked, and Yanagita doubled to left-center to put runners on second and third. Yamakawa struck out swinging for the first out, but Makihara singled to shallow right to drive in a run. Yamamoto grounded out to third and Kawase grounded out to first, ending the inning with SoftBank ahead 5-1.

Lotte managed only one hit in the fourth. Satoh grounded out to first, Yasuda singled, Terachi flew out to third and Ogawa popped out to third. SoftBank threatened again in the bottom of the fourth. Masaki singled on the left line with no outs. After one out, Shuto walked and Kondoh singled to shallow right to load the bases. Kurihara grounded out to first for the second out, and Yanagita grounded out to second to end the inning without a run.

Lotte’s fifth inning produced one hit but no runs. Inoue struck out looking, Miyazaki singled to shallow center, Yamaguchi struck out swinging and Fujiwara flew out to left. SoftBank also left a runner in the fifth. Yamakawa popped out to first, Makihara singled to shallow left, Yamamoto flew out to right and Kawase grounded out to shortstop.

Lotte again threatened in the sixth. Nishikawa was hit by a pitch and Satoh walked with no outs. Yasuda flew out to center, Terachi struck out swinging and Ogawa struck out swinging. SoftBank went quietly in the bottom of the sixth. Masaki flew out to second, Shuto struck out looking and Kondoh flew out to second.

Lotte cut into the lead in the seventh. Inoue homered to left. Miyazaki flew out to shortstop, Yamaguchi walked, Fujiwara flew out to center and Nishikawa struck out swinging. SoftBank put two runners on in the bottom of the seventh. Kurihara grounded out to second, Yanagita singled to shallow right, Yamakawa walked and Makihara flew out to second.

Lotte went scoreless in the eighth. Satoh flew out to center, Yasuda grounded out to shortstop, Terachi walked and Ogawa flew out to shortstop. SoftBank also did not score in the eighth. Yuudai Yamamoto flew out to center, Kawase walked, Masaki flew out to left and Ukyo Shuto grounded out to shortstop.

The ninth brought the most important stretch of the game. Inoue flew out to third and Daito Yamamoto struck out looking. Koki Yamaguchi kept the inning alive with a single to shallow right. Fujiwara followed with a single to shallow left. Nishikawa then doubled to right-center, scoring two runs and pulling Lotte within 5-4. Satoh struck out swinging to end the game, stranding Nishikawa at second.

The top star for SoftBank was Rutledge, whose five innings stabilized the game after Lotte’s first-inning home run. Kondoh went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs. Kurihara went 1-for-3 with two RBIs. Fujiwara went 2-for-5 with a home run and one RBI. Inoue went 1-for-4 with a home run and one RBI. Naoya Masuda threw a scoreless inning for Lotte, allowing no hits and one walk. Yuki Matsumoto pitched a scoreless inning with one walk, Darwinzon Hernandez added a scoreless inning with one walk and two strikeouts, and Yuki Tsumori allowed one hit and one earned run with one walk and one strikeout. Ojima kept Lotte in the game after a rocky start, but the early five-run SoftBank output was enough.

SoftBank improved to 80-46-3. Lotte fell to 58-64-3. The teams were scheduled to meet again Sunday, Sept. 13, at Fukuoka Yahuoku! Dome. SoftBank entered the series after an 11-1 win over Lotte on Friday, Sept. 11. Lotte had won four of its previous six games before Friday’s loss.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of SoftBank 5, Lotte 4. Its ELO system gave SoftBank a 71.2 percent probability to win before the game.