The 14th game between Orix Buffaloes and the Saitama Seibu Lions will be held at Kyocera Dome Osaka on July 5th at 2 PM.

[Head-to-head record] Orix Buffaloes (5th place) vs. Saitama Seibu Lions (2nd place): 7 wins, 5 losses, 1 draw

[Announced Starting Pitcher]
Orix Buffaloes: pitcher Espinoza, 12 games, 6 wins, 3 losses, ERA 2.49
Saitama Seibu Lions: pitcher Chihiro Sumida 12 games, 6 wins, 4 losses, ERA 2.30

The two teams engaged in a fierce battle lasting over five hours on the 3rd. pitcher pitcher and​ ​Chihiro Sumida will now take the mound as rescheduled games.

On the 3rd, Orix Buffaloes saw Tomoya Mori, who had been temporarily sidelined due to poor physical condition, hit his first Home Run since returning to the first team, giving them the lead. Also on the same day, Ryo Ota had two hit and one RBI, and on June 19th against Saitama Seibu Lions he hit a game-tying home run in the 9th inning and a walk-walk-off hit in the 10th inning. Can the team stop its losing streak with the performances of these key offensive players?

Meanwhile, the Saitama Seibu Lions, currently on a five-game losing streak, have struggled against pitcher Espinoza in their last encounter. In that game, Yuto Koga hit his third home run of the season, a two-run shot, and the Lions scored five runs in six innings. In the game on the 3rd, Takuya Hiruma and Manaya Nishikawa, batting 8th and 9th respectively, each reached base three times, contributing to a combined three runs. They will be looking to show this same cohesion and conquer this tough opponent for the second consecutive game.

Written by Kai Nagi Niwa