◆ Pacific League: Orix Buffaloes vs. Seibu Lions (May 5th, Kyocera Dome Osaka)

Orix Buffaloes pitcher Anderson Espinoza left the game after 7 innings, having allowed 5 hit 1 runs. In the first inning, he retired Seibu Lions batters in order. He had a smooth start, and in the second inning, he allowed an infield single to Nevin, the leadoff hit, but he shut down the subsequent batters to runs the score at 0. In the third through fifth innings, immediately after receiving a 1-run lead, he retired the side in order each time.

In the sixth inning, with two outs, Canario was carried to center field, allowing a stolen second and allowing the team to runner into scoring position for the first time in the game. Even so, they held Takizawa in the following struck out swing and held onto the lead.

In the seventh inning, with a three-run lead, he allowed back-to-back singles to right field by Ishii and Kojima with two outs, then gave up an RBI single to second base infield hit to pinch hitter Yu Koga. Facing a two-out, runners on first and second jam, he induced a swinging strikeout struck out from pinch hitter Sotozaki and escaped with the minimum runs.

In the eighth inning, reliever Mukunoki took the mound. Espinoza earned his seventh win, tying his personal best from his first year in Japan in 2024, and moved closer to his fourth consecutive win against Seibu Lions.