Nippon-Ham draws 3-3 with Seibu after Ito sparks dugout row

Nippon-Ham battled to a 3-3 draw against Seibu on September 12, 2026, at Belluna Dome. The hard-fought outcome preserved a narrow 2.5-game margin between third-place Nippon-Ham and second-place Seibu in the standings.

Heated dispute empties dugouts during fifth inning

Tensions escalated dramatically during the fifth frame when pitcher Ito engaged in a sharp confrontation with Seibu third-base coach Satoshi Kuroda. Both team rosters immediately emptied onto the diamond from the dugouts in a widespread commotion, forcing game umpires to suspend play temporarily until coaches restored calm. The standoff halted action.

Understand the case: Seibu beats Hiroshima 4-3 with decisive hit from Hasegawa at Belluna Dome

Manager Shinjo addresses the on-field confrontation

Shinjo evaluated the heated incident right after the final out, observing that participants were likely overly sensitive during such an important game before adding that nobody can provide answers when individuals simply think they did nothing wrong. Umpires ejected nobody.

Starting pitcher delivers eight innings on the mound

Ito yielded 10 hits and three runs across eight complete innings on the mound as the starter pursued his tenth win for the third consecutive year.

Seibu engineered a temporary lead in the fourth inning behind a pivotal two-run double from Genda. Canario extended that scoring surge by lifting a sacrifice fly into left field.