◆ Pacific League: Orix Buffaloes vs. Rakuten Eagles (29th, Kyocera Dome Osaka)

Rakuten Eagles The first draft pick Sota Fujiwara pitcher (22) of Hanazono University made his first professional start and was baptized by the pros. mound with two runs in the top of the first inning, but he gave up a run in five pitches, allowing a left-field hit to Mune, a right-field hit to Hirooka and a timely hit to Nishikawa in the middle of the inning. He also gave up Walk to Ota, and with no outs bases loaded, he gave up a double to Nakagawa to turn the game around.

The rookie struggled to throw strike with breaking ball, and his poorly placed fastballs were consistently hit hard. His debut game gave him a harsh lesson about the realities of professional baseball.