On September 15th from 18:00, the 21st round match between the Orix Buffaloes and Fukuoka Softbank will be held at Kyocera Dome Osaka.

【Match Record】Orix Buffaloes (4th) vs. Fukuoka Softbank (1st) 10 wins, 10 losses

【Announced Starters】
Orix Buffaloes: pitcher Espinoza 20 games, 3 wins, 9 lose, ERA 3.21
Fukuoka Softbank: pitcher Moinelo 5 games, 4 win, 1 lose, ERA 0.76

Orix Buffaloes Espinoza pitcher has been struggling on the mound, currently on a 6-game losing streak. In his previous appearance against the Saitama Seibu Lions, he became the lose pitcher despite allowing only 2 runs on 8 hit in 8 innings, as he received no run support. He will look to continue pitching tenaciously to secure his first win since June 23rd. In the lineup, Yutaro Sugimoto rejoined the first team on the 12th for the first time in three months. Can he lead the team with his characteristic batting power?

Fukuoka Softbank, which has a magic number of "5" for the championship after 6 consecutive wins, will start Moinelo pitcher. Although he had a late start this season, his performance is as impressive as expected with 4 win, 1 lose, and an ERA of 0.76. The team hopes to steadily reduce the magic number. Meanwhile, in the lineup, Kensuke Kondo recorded 4 RBI in the previous three-game series, bringing his total to 98 RBI. While he is 12 behind Ryoya Kurihara, who is competing for the RBI title, expectations are high for him to surpass 100 RBI for the first time in his career.

Text by Minagi Niwa