◆Pre-season game: Lotte vs. Orix Buffaloes (11th, Zozo Marine Stadium)

Orix Buffaloes won a close game against Lotte. Leading by one run in the third inning, starting pitcher Yamashita walked leadoff batter Tomosugi, who then allowed Ogawa to execute a safety bunt, putting the team in a pinch with runners on Walk third with no outs. Ogawa then stole second base, and the next pitch to Fujiwara was a wild pitch, tying the game. Fujiwara then hit sacrifice fly to left field, putting Orix in the lead.

In the sixth inning, just after giving up another one-run lead, he allowed a single to right field by Polanco to tie the game. He left the game after 5 2/3 innings, giving up four hit and three runs. Still, the right-hander, who is considered a candidate for the opening day pitcher along with Kuri, showed some of his abilities, striking out six batters in every inning and throwing a fastball up to 155 km/h. strike out, Sato Hajime, Abe, and Higashimatsu all pitched runs innings after that.

In the third inning, with one out and a runner on second, So hit a go-ahead doble to left field. In the fifth inning, with the score 1-2, Gibo hit a game-doble to right-center field with one out and a runner on first, and then with one out and runners on first and third, Nishikawa hit sacrifice fly to left field to give the team a temporary lead. So had a great performance with 3 At Bat 3 hit, 1 RBI and 1 stolen base, showing his good form with a batting average of .571 in the open season.

With the score tied at 3-3 in the ninth inning, leadoff hitter Kazuki hit a single to left field, and with one out, pinch runner Endo successfully stole second base. Then, with two outs and a runner on third base, substitute hitter Ota drove in the winning hit to center field.