The 14th game between Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters and the Orix Orix Buffaloes will be held at ES CON FIELD on July 1st at 6 PM.

[Head-to-head record] Hokkaido Nippon-Ham (3rd place) vs. Orix Buffaloes (4th place): 8 wins, 5 losses

[Announced Starting Pitcher]
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham: Takayuki Kato pitcher 11 games, 7 wins, 1 loss, 2.88 ERA
Orix Buffaloes: pitcher Daiki Tajima, 8 games, 2 wins, 3 losses, ERA 5.97

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham' starting pitcher Takayuki Kato who is currently on a five-game winning streak and in excellent form. This season, he has pitched in two games Orix Buffaloes Buffaloes, with ERA of 0.66 and a win in both games. He will be looking to continue his good form in this game as well. In the batting lineup, Yuya Shindo hit his first professional triple in the previous day's game and is showing hit form with hits in three consecutive games.

On the other hand, Orix Buffaloes pitcher, Daiki Tajima, will be taking the mound against Hokkaido Nippon-Ham for the first time since the 2023 season. In his previous start (June 24th against Fukuoka Softbank), he gave up 6 hit on 4 runs in less than 2 innings, failing to set up a game and suffering his third consecutive loss. In the 2023 matchup, he was hit hard, giving up 6 hit 7 runs in less than 5 innings. Will this be his chance for revenge after three years?

Written by Yokazu Sonoda