◆ Pacific League: Lotte 2-7 Orix Buffaloes (12th, ZOZO Marine Stadium)

Orix Buffaloes pitcher Anderson Espinoza earned his career-high eighth win, the most on the team, by allowing only four hit two runs over seven innings. In his third year in Japan, he also reached 20 career wins in NPB. Manager Kishida praised him, saying, "After runs (in the second inning), he responded very well to Kenta Wakatsuki's catching. He's very reliable. The next game will be important as well, so I have high expectations for him."

In the sixth inning, trailing one run, with runners on first and second and no outs, Ota came from behind to score a two-run doble to left-center. "He didn't miss a sweet pitch," praised the cleanup hitter's concentration. After that, Kurita also got a timely hit, and in the ninth inning, Nakagawa hit his fifth two-run homer over the left field, and Nishikawa hit his sixth solo homer over the right field. "Kurita was big too, and Keita and Ryoma hit home run. Those were really big," the fielder said, showing confidence in their first two-game series win.