Orix Buffaloes Kenya Wakatsuki catcher Kenta Wakatsuki (30) declared on the 17th that he would pick up the pace after the interleague games. Although the first team had the day off, he did some individual practice at Maishima in Osaka. "I was active yesterday (16th) and I felt more refreshed than I expected. I wonder if it's okay to rest too much," he said, sweating it out in the indoor practice facility for an hour.

In his 13th professional season, after the WBC in March, he has appeared in 49 games so far. Since Tomoya Mori, who was born in the same year as him (1995), left the team on the 2nd, he has started every game behind the plate, continuing to fight as an indispensable pillar of the team. Offensively, he has a batting average of .211 (28 At Bat 133 hit) and 10 RBI. In 2025, he achieved his first career season with 100 hit so he revealed his frustration, saying, "I'm not satisfied."

Nevertheless, he hit three doble in the game against Yakult on the 10th (at Kyocera Dome). "I've had more good at-bats," he said, and he has found a way to improve his batting average in the interleague games, which has been .267 over 16 games. Most recently, he has been exchanging opinions with an analyst about his swing trajectory. "I feel like I've been practicing that kind of thing. I'm trying to get it into shape somehow," he said, and on this day, he repeatedly checked his form with a batting machine in preparation for the league games to resume on the 19th.

The team finished the interleague series with a positive win-loss record of one game above .500, 5.5 games behind the league leaders, Seibu Lions. "I think it's going to be a close race, so we just have to do our best to stay in contention," he said, looking ahead to chasing the top teams from third place in the Pacific League. (Shunta Nanbu)