◆ Pacific League: Nippon-Ham vs. Orix Orix Buffaloes (August 1st, ES CON FIELD)

Nippon-Ham pitcher Kohei Arihara made his final adjustments at Escon ahead of his start against Orix Buffaloes on the 2nd. He spoke of his enthusiasm for mound for the first time since the game The Giants on May 30th (at Escon).

In his last start, he took the loss after allowing two Home Run, finishing with 6 hit and 4 runs over 7 innings. In six starts so far this season, he has a record of 1 win and 5 losses, with a ERA of 7.34, failing to live up to his potential.

The right-handed pitcher, who has suffered four straight losses since being one win away from his 100th win in NPB history, said, "All that matters is that the team wins, that's all." Regarding his adjustments over the past month in the minor leagues, he said, "I've been working on my fastball, and my finishing pitches after getting ahead in the count, so I hope I can pitch well tomorrow."

The team is closing in on the leaders, and is only two games behind them before the match. "I think the atmosphere is really good, so I want to get into that atmosphere and win in that good mood," he said.