The first game between Orix Buffaloes and Tohoku Rakuten Eagles will be held at Kyocera Dome Osaka on March 27th at 6:30 PM.

[Last season's head-to-head record] Orix Buffaloes vs. Tohoku Rakuten Eagles 15 wins, 10 losses

[Announced Starting Pitcher]
Orix Buffaloes: pitcher Hiroya Miyagi, 23 games, 7 wins, 3 losses, 2.39 ERA (last season)
Tohoku Rakuten Eagles: pitcher Kosei Shoji, 13 games, 4 wins, 4 losses, 3.07 ERA (last season)

Orix Buffaloes 's starting pitcher will be Hiroya Miyagi. This year he participated in the WBC, making relief appearances in two games. He pitched a total of 3.1 inning, allowing no hit strike out four, and giving up no runs. In the open games after joining the team, he pitched as the third reliever in the game against Hanshin Tigers on the 21st, hit them to one hit strike out closer four in two innings without runs. This will be his third consecutive year as the opening day pitcher, but in the past two years, despite good pitching performances, he hasn't earned a win. This year, he'll be hoping that third time's the charm.

Tohoku Rakuten Eagles will entrust the opening pitcher to pitcher Kosei Shoji. Last season, pitcher was sidelined by injury and only appeared in 13 games, but this year he has posted a stable 1.89 ERA in 4 exhibition games, earning him the important role for the first time in his fourth year as a professional. On the offensive side, Itsuki Murabayashi has been struggling with a batting average of .128 in the exhibition games. Can last season's leading hit gradually improve his performance after the season starts?