◆Nippon Life Interleague Series 2026: Orix Buffaloes vs. Hanshin Tigers (June 12, Kyocera Dome Osaka)

Orix Buffaloes ・Taito Takashima pitcher joined the first team on the 12th at Kyocera Dome Osaka for the game against Hanshin Tigers.After joining the team from the corporate league’s Oji, this is his third season as a pro. He made the opening day rotation for the second consecutive year and had an unbeaten three-game winning streak until the May 4 game against the Lotte Marines (Kyocera Dome Osaka). However, in the May 31 game against the Chunichi (Kyocera Dome Osaka), he was pulled in the middle of the second inning with a 4-runs, and his registration as an active player was removed the following day, June 1.

In the farm league game against Hanshin Tigers on the 6th, he pitched three hit innings as reliever, allowing no runs. He is expected to be used in a similar relief role in the first team. The team has made it through the interleague series with a .500 record of 7 wins, 7 losses, and 1 draw, and will face Hanshin Tigers, the second-place team in the Central League, in their final interleague series starting today. In 2025, the "prince from Oji" boasted a stable 2.75 ERA in 39 1/3 innings pitched in 16 games as a ERA, and is expected to contribute in multiple ways.