Taiwanese Pitcher Sun Yi-Lei Suffers First Loss of Season After Rough Outing Against SoftBank Hawks

Taiwanese pitcher Sun Yi-Lei experienced a difficult outing on June 20, 2026, in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball league, suffering his first loss of the season. Sun, playing for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, surrendered five runs over four innings against the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.

The game started poorly for Sun, who gave up two quick hits. A ground ball brought in the first run, and a passed ball by catcher Yuya Takeyoshi allowed another run to score in the first inning. Sun managed to hold the Hawks scoreless in the second but faltered in the third, giving up a solo home run to Tomoya Masagi. By the end of his four innings, he had allowed three runs.

Sun's troubles continued into the fifth inning. After allowing a hit and a walk, he was removed from the game with runners on first and second and no outs. The relief pitcher, Koki Kikuchi, immediately gave up a three-run homer to SoftBank's star player, Kenkyu Kondo. Two of those runs were charged to Sun, bringing his total earned runs to four.

Despite Sun's struggles, the Fighters attempted a comeback late in the game, but it was not enough. The Hawks extended their lead with four more runs in the sixth inning, including another three-run homer from Kondo, who finished the game with two home runs and seven RBIs. The Fighters ultimately lost the game 10-7, leaving Sun Yi-Lei with the defeat.