◆ Pacific League Orix Buffaloes 0-10 Rakuten Eagles (27th, Kyocera Dome Osaka)

Orix Buffaloes pitcher Hiroya Miyagi (24) had a disastrous outing. The ace, who was entrusted with the opening day pitcher for the third time in three consecutive years, was knocked out after giving up 8 runs in 1 2/3 innings, both tying his personal worst. "I'm sorry that I pitch like this. All my weaknesses were on full display," he said, hanging his head.

After the WBC, he threw only 31 pitches in an open game against Hanshin Tigers (Kyocera D) on March 21. Even so, he made no excuses, saying, "I think I lacked skill in that area as well. In the second inning, he gave up four consecutive singles to Voit, McCusker, Kurokawa, and Asamura with two outs bases loaded after a blunder by his teammates. The next time you're in the zone, you're going to want to be able to get to the zone. （I'm going to throw a good ball toward the strike zone (next time) and try to get strike and fouls on all types of pitches," he said.

Manager Kishida did not blame Miyagi, saying, "I didn't expect him to make that much contact. He just has to aim for the next time." Regarding his next appearance on the mound, he explained, "I'll talk to him about it later." Miyagi was already burning with a desire for revenge, saying, "I want to be able to play in whatever position (game) I'm told to play."