On September 19, the 22nd game between Hokkaido Nippon-Ham and Orix Buffaloes was held at ES CON FIELD, and Orix Buffaloes won 7-4.

In the top of the 2nd inning, Orix Buffaloes took a 2-point lead with an RBI doble by Ryoma Yamanaka and an RBI hit by Ho Naito with two outs and a runner on second. Starting pitcher Espinoza gave up a 6th 2-run Home Run to Yua Tamiya in the bottom of the 4th and a 6th solo Home Run to Ruan Ohtsuka in the bottom of the 5th, but the lineup succeeded in turning the game around in the top of the 6th when Yuma Mune hit a 13th 2-run Home Run.

Although Espinoza received support, he gave up a 1st solo Home Run to Leo Shibata in the bottom of the 6th, bringing the game back to square one. However, immediately after in the top of the 7th, Ryoma Nishikawa hit a 12th 2-run Home Run, succeeding in taking the lead. Espinoza survived a pinch in the bottom of the 7th without giving up any runs, leaving the mound after 7 innings with 96 pitches, 6 hits, 1 Walk, 5 strike outs, and 4 runs.

In the bottom of the 8th, pitcher Soichiro Yamazaki retired three batters in order, and in the top of the 9th, one more point was added by a Walk with the bases loaded. In the final bottom of the 9th, pitcher Machado closed the game, ending it at 7-4. Orix Buffaloes stopped their losing streak at 3, and starting pitcher Espinoza marked his 13th win, the sole leader in the league. In the lineup, 4th-year player Naito recorded his first professional RBI.

On the other hand, for Hokkaido Nippon-Ham, starting pitcher Hiromi Ito went 6.0 innings with 120 pitches, 10 hits, 1 Walk, 9 strike outs, and 6 runs. The lineup had 3 Home Runs in the middle of the game, but ended with only 3 other hits. Additionally, Shibata marked his first hit at the home stadium and his first professional Home Run.

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

B ○Espinoza-Soichiro Yamazaki-S Machado
F ●Hiromi Ito-Yi-Lei Sun-Hiroya Shimamoto-Nao Miyanishi

Text by Yui Kayama