◆ Pacific League League: Orix Buffaloes (October 10th, ZOZO Marine Stadium)

Orix Buffaloes pitcher Yasuto Takashima has been scheduled to start against the Lotte Marines on the 11th at ZOZO Marine Stadium. Having joined the team from the corporate league Oji, he earned his career-high third win of the season on May 4th against the same opponent (Kyocera Dome Osaka), but has gone win in his five consecutive starts since then. "Winning is also a matter of luck. I want to focus on the basics, like making sure closer them down in the next defense after fielder score a pitch," he said, aiming to secure his fourth win.

In the game against Softbank Hawks on June 25th (Mizuho PayPay Dome) and against Seibu Lions on July 3rd (Hotto Motto Kobe), he was taken out of the game after 4 2/3 innings in both games. "I was taken out in similar situations in two consecutive games. There were many times when I allowed runner into scoring position and they were able to hit me, so I've been working on my quick pitching this past week," he said, emphasizing his ability to persevere in difficult situations and adjusting his training with seven days of rest between starts.

Fujiwara and Nishikawa are among the opposing hitter, both left-handed and right-handed. "There are a lot of hitter at the top of the order, so the key is to not let them get on base. I'll keep in mind that 'single hits are OK,' and just be careful of long hits, and I'll make sure to throw low pitches where I can, while also using high pitches," he told himself.