Professional baseball will begin simultaneously in both the Central and Pacific Leagues on the 27th. Orix Buffaloes, who finished third last season, will host the Rakuten Rakuten Eagles, who finished fourth last season, at their home stadium.

Orix Buffaloes 's lineup is primarily Japanese. With Sugimoto starting the season in the minor leagues, their offensive power will be reduced, but can their offense, which scored the fewest runs among the 12 teams in the preseason, step up?

Rakuten Eagles will be without Muneyama due to injury just before the season opener. It is highly likely that Murabayashi, Kurokawa, and Kobukata will form infield. Voit proved his adaptability last season, and depending on McCusker's performance, their scoring power could increase significantly.

The expected starting line-up for both teams are as follows:

◆ Rakuten Eagles

1 (Right) Nakajima

2 (2) Kofukuda

3 (1) Asamura

4 (Finger) Voight

5 (left) McCusker

6 (3B) Kurokawa

7 (middle) Tatsumi

8 (Play) Murabayashi

9 (catcher) Ota

Throwing

◆ Orix Buffaloes

1. (Three) Sects

2 (1) Hirooka

3 (2) Ota

4 (left) Nishikawa

5 (Central) Nakagawa

6 (Catcher) Moritomo

7 (DH) Seymour

8 (Play) Benirin

9 (Right Field) Mugitani

Pitcher Miyagi