On September 15, the 21st game between Orix Buffaloes and Fukuoka Softbank was held at Kyocera Dome Osaka, and Fukuoka Softbank won 5 to 3.

Fukuoka Softbank starting pitcher Moinelo pitched perfectly through four innings. However, in the bottom of the 5th with a four-run lead, he allowed runner on base via a Walk and a hit, and conceded 1 runs due to a hit combined with an error. In the top of the 6th, he gave up a solo home run, his 9th, to Ryo Ota, and left the mound after 6 innings, 87 pitches, 3 hit, 1 Walk, and 2 runs (earned runs 1).

The lineup took a 1-0 lead in the top of the 4th when, with two outs, an opponent's error and a hit by Taisei Makihara put runners on 1st and 2nd, followed by an RBI doble from Tatsuru Yanagimachi. In the top of the 5th, Yuki Yanagita hit his 17th 3-run home run, and in the top of the 6th, they added another run on a grounder by Yudai Shoji with runners on 1st and 3rd and one out, following a hit by Yuto Kawamura.

​Yuki Tsumori pitcher, who took the mound in the bottom of the 7th, allowed a doble to Ryoto Kita and conceded 1 runs on an RBI triple by pinch-hitter Ryoma Yamanaka. In the bottom of the 8th, Yuki Matsumoto pitcher escaped a bases loaded crisis caused by 2 hit and a Hit by Pitch without giving up a run, and in the bottom of the 9th, Kazuki Sugiyama pitcher closed the game by retiring three batters in order.

Fukuoka Softbank, who achieved the win, saw Moinelo pitcher mark his 5th victory. The team reduced their magic number for the championship to "3" with their 7th consecutive victory. For the defeated Orix Buffaloes, starting pitcher Jery took his 10th loss after pitching 5.1 innings with 102 pitches, 7 hit, 3 Walk/Hit by Pitch, 7 strike out, and 5 runs (earned runs 4). The lineup's 7 hit and 3 runs were not enough to complete the comeback, and they lost the first game of the series.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Total
H 0 0 0 1 3 1 0 0 0 5
B 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 3

H ○Moinelo-Yuki Tsumori-Yuki Matsumoto-S Kazuki Sugiyama
B ●Jery-Ryoga Tomiyama-Reiji Higashiyama-Taisuke Yamaoka-Sho Iwasaki

Text by Rian Ueno