◆パ・リーグ　オリックス０―３日本ハム（９日・京セラドーム大阪）

Orix Buffaloes suffered their fifth shutout game loss of the season, missing out on their first five-game winning streak. Their seven-game winning streak against Nippon-Ham at home also came to an end. Unable to even reach second base, manager Mamoru Kishida tipped his hat off to opposing left-handed pitcher Takashi Kato, saying, "He didn't make any mistakes with the height of the ball. Not just the location, but the pitching was superb."

Prior to the game, Avg against right-handed hitter was .213, compared to .339 for left-handed hitter. "We just tried it once. The data showed that left-handed batters had a higher Avg against, so we tried it. But he pitched well," said the pitcher, explaining that his "killer lineup" of eight left-handed batters, with the exception of number eight, Wakatsuki, did not work. They have faced Nippon-Ham for three consecutive weeks, but with interleague play in between, their next encounter will be a three-game series starting on June 30th (ES CON FIELD). "There's a high possibility that we'll have to face Kato again, so we'll prepare countermeasures again," he said, switching gears.