Orix Buffaloes pitcher Yasuto Takashima has been scheduled to start against Nippon-Ham Fighters on the 19th (Kyocera Dome Osaka). In his previous start on the 11th against the Lotte Marines (at ZOZO Marine Stadium), he pitched a career-high 7 1/3 innings, giving up 9 hit but only 2 runs to earn his career-high 4th win. Considering that he threw a career-high 114 pitches, he said, "I prioritized recovering from fatigue, so I kept catch practice light. I adjusted the number of pitches there, and I was able to adjust properly in other areas like weight training," indicating that he has been in perfect physical condition for the seven days between starts.

This will be his second start against Nippon-Ham this season. In their previous encounter on April 25th (Kyocera Dome Osaka), pitcher five innings, runs only one run, and earned win. "I've always wanted to pitch long inning. I want to go as far as I can tomorrow as well." The lineup includes power hitters like Reyes and Manami. "They have a lot of hitter who can hit for extra bases, so I want to pitch carefully and avoid giving them any extra-base hits," he said, envisioning a strong performance.