The 11th game between Orix Buffaloes and Fukuoka Softbank will be held at Kyocera Dome Osaka on July 7th at 6 PM.

[Head-to-head record] Orix Buffaloes (4th place) vs. Fukuoka Softbank (1st place): 6 wins, 4 losses

[Announced Starting Pitcher]
Orix Buffaloes: pitcher Jerry, 12 games, 3 wins, 4 losses, ERA 2.08
Fukuoka Softbank: Naoyuki Uwasawa pitcher 10 games, 4 wins, 3 losses, 2.54 ERA

Orix Buffaloes 's starting pitcher will be Jerry. In his last appearance (June 30 against Hokkaido Nippon-Ham), he was pulled after 2.1 innings, giving up 9 hit 2 Hit by Pitch, and 5 runs, his shortest outing since arriving in Japan. He has been pitching well against Fukuoka Softbank in three games, throwing 6 inning each time and giving up only 1 runs in total. Will he be able to secure a win against his favored opponent? In the batting lineup, keep an eye on Ryoma Yamanaka. He had a batting average of over .300 in May and June, but has struggled in July, batting only .188 in 4 games.

Fukuoka Softbank will start pitcher Naoyuki Uwasawa. In his previous start (June 30 against Saitama Seibu Lions), he earned his first win since returning from injury, pitching 6 innings, allowing only 4 hit, no Hit by Pitch hit batsmen strike out giving up no runs. In his previous matchup against Orix Buffaloes (June 23), he gave up a solo home run to Kenya Wakatsuki and suffered a loss, pitching 5 innings and giving up 3 runs. Among fielder, Ryoya Kurihara is in excellent form, having already hit 3 Home Run in 5 games in July.

Text by Ryohei Shoji