On July 8th at 18:00, the 12th round match between Orix Buffaloes and Fukuoka Softbank will take place on Kyocera Dome Osaka.

[Head-to-head Record] Orix Buffaloes (5th place) vs. Fukuoka Softbank (1st place) 6 wins, 5 losses

[Announced Starting Lineup]
Orix Buffaloes: Alen Kuri pitcher 14 games, 6 wins, 5 losses, ERA 3.07
Fukuoka Softbank: Yugo Maeda pitcher 8 games, 6 wins, 0 losses, ERA 1.84

Orix Buffaloes starter Alen Kuri pitcher earned his sixth win of the season in his last appearance (June 28, against Tohoku Rakuten Eagles), pitching 7 innings with 95 pitches, 5 hit, 3 walks, Hit by Pitch 2 runs. This season, he started 2 Fukuoka Softbank games, with a 1-1 record and a ERA of 2.45. He wants to lead the team to win with the pitch to create the game in this game as well.

On the other hand, Fukuoka Softbank started Yugo Maeda pitcher. In his previous appearance (against Saitama Seibu Lions on the 1st), he played a perfect pitch through three innings, fulfilling his role as a starter, and marked his sixth consecutive win with 98 pitches over 7 innings, 3 hit, 3 Walk, 5 strike out no runs. Currently, pitcher Maeda is undefeated and is racking up wins. Orix Buffaloes game is his first appearance of the season, but will he pitch well?

Text by Aoi Nemoto