◆Nippon Life Interleague Series 2026 Orix Buffaloes 3-6 Hanshin Tigers (13th, Kyocera Dome Osaka)

Orix Buffaloes Yamazaki showed his pride in the Kansai Derby. In the 8th inning, trailing by one run, he was third in the third and inning pitch completely. He grounded out Sato to first and Oyama to fly out to right, and finally shut Shimamura off at the top speed of the day at 155 km/h to struck out. From the May 20 game against Softbank Hawks (Kyocera D), he went 8 games without runs. He said with a wry smile, "Even with two consecutive pitches, I was producing output. I think my record will end someday..." but a sense of fulfillment was evident.

Before the start of his 10th professional season, he announced his marriage to a non-celebrity woman. He is endlessly grateful for her thoughtfulness, saying, "When I pitch closer, we talk about baseball, but when I give up hits, she deliberately doesn't talk about it." He wears his wedding ring as a necklace and uses an embroidered glove inspired by his beloved dog, Joe, during practice. He is surely drawing plenty of power from his "new items," saying, "I have to do my best for my family."

With their four-game winning streak coming to an end and the team dropping to fourth place for the first time since April 6th, the strong performance of the 160 km/h right-handed pitcher is a bright spot. "I want to stay injury-free, produce solid results, and contribute to the team," he said, looking straight ahead. (Shunta Nanbu)