◆ Pacific League Seibu Lions 3-4 Lotte (16th, Belluna Dome)

Seibu Lions Lions pitcher Ryosuke Moriwaki returned to mound at his home stadium on the 16th, for the first time in 1111 days since July 1st, 2023, against Softbank Hawks Hawks (at Belluna Dome). He pitched one inning, allowing two hit and no runs. "It felt a little special, even to me. There were so many fans here, and I could hear their cheers of 'Go for it!' I closer myself from getting too nervous. I really felt the joy and happiness of finally being able to pitch here," he said with a smile.

From the ninth inning, trailing by two runs, he was the third pitcher to mound. Leadoff scorer Ogawa swung and missed struck out from count 2-2. Matsukawa and Yamazaki were hit in succession, putting runners on first and second with one out, but Fujiwara flew out to left and Nishikawa grounded out to shortstop, holding on with no runs, and he said, "I was really relieved."

During the series on the 14th and 15th, he had been warming up his shoulder at bullpen in preparation for a pitching appearance, but his chance never came. After returning to the first team, his long-awaited comeback appearance came in the third home game, and he smiled, saying, “I really wanted to pitch sooner.”Reflecting on his first home appearance in 1,111 days, he said with emotion, “Looking back now that I’ve finished pitching, it felt like a long time. I think I could have gotten back to this a little sooner. But when I was called up to the first team, it felt like a blink of an eye. However, once I actually made it to mound, it felt like it took a while.”

Moriwaki joined Seibu Lions Lions in 2018 as the sixth pick in the draft, coming from the corporate team Sega Sammy. He pitched in over 40 games for three consecutive years starting in 2020, but in 2023 he underwent a brachial artery patch repair surgery for right brachial artery occlusion, and was relegated to the developmental league in 2024. He diligently continued his rehabilitation and made his return to the main roster on June 30th.