Under new manager Mamoru Kishida, the 2025 season ended with a 74-66-3 record and a .529 winning percentage, finishing in third place and entering Class A for the first time in two years. Orix Buffaloes In this article Orix Buffaloes pitcher we look back at the 2025 season for the team.

This season, FA signee Alen Kuri pitcher led the way with a team-best 11 wins. He was followed by Ryuhei Sotani pitcher with 8 wins, Hiroya Miyagi pitcher, Daiki Tajima pitcher with 7 wins, and Espinosa pitcher with 5 wins around the rotation.

On the other hand, while the relievers, Seiryu Kotajima pitcher and Kosei Yoshida pitcher, who had been the core of the team until last season, left the team, Machado pitcher and Perdomo pitcher, both foreigners, pitched the first and second most games for the team, supporting the team. And young players from the developmental ranks, such as Kaito Saiki pitcher and Kento Kawase pitcher, emerged. Midway through the season, Sho Iwasaki pitcher joined the team from Chunichi.

Alen Kuri, who has made the most starts for the team with 25 appearances, is leading pitcher staff.

Kuri pitcher, an FA signee from Hiroshima, had a big year in his first year with the club, pitching 1 runs in 8 innings against Hokkaido Nippon-Ham on April 5 to grab his first win since joining the club, and in the same game on April 18, he pitched 6 hit 5 strike out 1 runs in complete game win to give him a 1.16 ERA for the month of April.

In July, the middle part of the season, he was a bit hammered, going 1-2 in four games, ERA with a 4.50 record. However, he picked it up toward the end of the month, going 2-0 in four September games, pitching a total of 26 inning innings and posting a ERA 1.04 record again. In particular, on September 29, against Tohoku Rakuten Eagles, he threw 3 hit 5 strike out in 129 pitches for his first shutout game win appearance since moving to Japan.

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham He showed his dedication pitch to the postseason, including four innings of no runs relief in the second game of the "2025 PERSOL Climax Series Pa" first baseman stage with

Opening pitcher Hiroya Miyagi wins 7 games, Ryuhei Sotani sets new career high

pitcher Miyagi, wearing number "18," served as the opening day pitcher. Although he didn't get a win or loss that day, he started the season well with a strong performance of 8 innings pitched, 2 hit 1 runs allowed. In April, he pitched a total of 30 inning in 4 games, posting ERA of 1.50. After winning his first three games of the season against Chiba Lotte Marines on May 21, he went about two months without a win, but he finished the regular season with 4 consecutive wins starting against Saitama Seibu Lions on July 30.

This season, he appeared in 23 games, second only to his career high of 24 games in 2022. He faced many ace pitchers, and although win total was low, he still finished with a winning record of 7 wins and 3 losses.

In his third season, pitcher Ryuhei Sotani started a career-high 21 games. On May 18 against the Saitama Seibu Lions, he pitched complete game game win, allowing only 4 hit, no Hit by Pitch strike out 6, and runs only 1 run. Although he had ups and downs from June onwards, on July 11 against Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, he pitched 8 runs innings with 10 strike out, marking his career-high 8th win. This season, he has shown particularly good form against Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, pitching a total of 19 innings with ERA of 1.89 in 3 games against them.

Daiki Tajima, who pitched two shutout game, Shumpeita Yamashita who maintained his place in the rotation, will make their first postseason appearances.

pitcher Tajima changed pitch form to a windup midway through last season, and this season he varied pitch form throughout the game. In his third appearance of the season on April 30 against Chiba Lotte Marines, he achieved shutout game win in three seasons, and on July 16 against Tohoku Rakuten Eagles, he threw a career-high 134 pitches and secured his second shutout game win. After that, wins were hard to come by, but he secured two consecutive wins on September 16 and 23. He finished the season with a 7-7 record.

Espinoza pitcher has defended the rotation, starting 23 games tied with Miyagi pitcher. In April and May, they achieved HQS in 3 out of 7 games, but they were off to a difficult start with 0 wins and 3 losses due to lack of support. Still, they won 3 consecutive victories since their first win against Hiroshima on June 5th. In August, he continued to pitch well with a ERA 1.71 ERA in five games.

Although he did not reach the regulation innings pitched, he threw 129.2 innings, going 5-8 with a ERA of 2.98. He created a stable game and became an indispensable part of the team.

Shumpeita Yamashita, now in his fifth year with the pitcher, was delayed due to a back injury, making his first appearance on September 7th. His next appearance on the 18th saw him pitch his longest of the season, 7.2 innings, closer just one runs, and posted ERA 1.37 ERA in three games in September. He pitched as the third reliever in the final regular season game against Tohoku Rakuten Eagles on October 5th, providing excellent relief by pitching two innings, allowing just one hit and no runs.

Furthermore, pitcher was entrusted with starting the first game of the first stage of the 2025 Persol Climax Series first baseman League. In his first appearance in the postseason, runs in six innings, but ended up being the lose pitcher. He hopes to be in top condition from the start of next season and pitch for the entire year.

reliever pitchers are foreign players working at full capacity.

reliever pitching staff was significantly different from last season, but two foreign players continued to perform well, just as they had the previous year.

pitcher Machado recorded a team-high 58 appearances and 28 saves, third in the league, extending his own club record for most saves by a foreign pitcher. In particular, he demonstrated exceptional consistency, going 20 consecutive scoreless runs from June 5 to August 9.

pitcher Perdomo, who joined the team midway through last season, also showed reliable performance, making 50 appearances, second only to pitcher, and recording 33 hold, tied for second in the league. He earned hold points in 17 consecutive games from April 22 to July 6, and recorded hold against every Central League League team during the "Nippon Life Interleague Series 2025" during that period.

Young players from development teams make great strides

Another young player from the developmental stage, pitcher, also made a great leap forward.

Kaito Saiki pitcher Rakuten Eagles runs On August 11, he pitched the bottom of the 10th inning of a two-run lead extra inning against Chiba Lotte Marines and got all the outs win for his first professional save. He got all the outs struck out and earned his first professional save. In the end, he pitched in 38 games, going 2-1 with 11 hold wins, 4 saves, and ERA a 1.87 ERA in his breakout year.

win He also made his first professional appearance Kento Kawase pitcher on April 22 against Fukuoka Softbank and his first professional appearance hold against Tohoku Rakuten Eagles on August 23, and pitched in 23 games, gaining a lot of experience in the first team.

Veteran Sho Iwasaki joined the team mid-season but pitched in 37 games.

Sho Iwasaki, 36 years old and in his 18th year as a pro, joined the team on May 30 in a trade from Chunichi Sho Iwasaki pitcher. He was promoted to the first team on June 7, and on June 28 against Tohoku Rakuten Eagles, he struck out three in one inning closer, bringing his total to 100 hold. After the middle of the season, he became a regular in the winning pattern and pitched in 37 games, going 4-1 with a 16 hold and 2.12 ERA record, supporting bullpen the team with a stable pitch record.

Despite finishing in the top three for the first time in two years, the team's ERA was 3.37, tied for fourth in the league, a decline from last season's 2.82. Can they improve pitcher staff next season as they aim for their first league championship in three years?

Written by Aoi Nishijima