◆ Pacific League Orix Buffaloes 3-1 Rakuten Eagles (May 5th, Kyocera Dome)

Rakuten Eagles lost a close game to Orix Buffaloes, suffering their sixth consecutive defeat. Their first win of the second half of the season remains elusive. Their deficit has ballooned to a season-worst 22 games.

Starting pitcher Takinaka gave up a solo home run to Nishikawa to center field with two outs in the first inning, conceding the first run. In the fourth inning, with the score tied, an unlucky hit that fell between infield and outfield put him in a jam with runners on first and third with one out. Nakagawa hit a jammed ground ball to second base, allowing the runner on third to score and giving the opposing team the lead. In the seventh inning, with runners on second and third with one out, Wakatsuki hit a sacrifice fly to left field, extending the lead. He was taken out of the game after 7 innings, having given up 3 runs. He pitched a good game but was unable to secure the win.

In the third inning, trailing by one run, McCusker hit a timely single to left field with two outs and runners on second and third base, temporarily tying the game. However, despite getting runner on base after that, they were unable to score any more runs and were unable to close the gap.