Five NPB umpires received severe warnings Friday for losing track of the count in an at-bat the day before.
With one out and none on in the bottom of the third, home-plate umpire Chikara Tsugawa lost track of the count. He failed to send Hiroshima Carp hitter Seiya Suzuki to first base when Chunichi Dragons pitcher Shotaro Kasahara's 3-2 pitch was called a ball.
Suzuki fouled off the next pitch before being retired on a grounder to short, when he should have been on first base with a walk.
Tsugawa, first-base umpire Kenjiro Mori, second-base ump Tetsuya Shimata, and third-base ump Kazuaki Nako and alternate Shinji Hashimoto all failed to pick up on the mistake.
Neither team's bench said anything about it either, with the result that the Dragons received an extra out in the game they went on to lose 3-2 in 11 innings.