◆ 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 in the first inning, but pitched a strong game, allowing only 5 hit 3 runs over 7 innings. He kept the game close, but couldn't secure the win. Manager Yoshii praised Takinaka, saying, "I think Takinaka did a great job."

Despite getting nine hit, the offense only managed one run. In the sixth inning, with no outs and runners on first and second, Asamura grounded into double play play, resulting in no runs scored. In the seventh inning, leadoff hitter Muneyama singled to left hit but was caught stealing second base. The manager took responsibility, saying, "The offense's lineup was poorly arranged, and the strategy in the sixth and seventh innings was also flawed. I feel really sorry for Takinaka. They did their best. The offense got nine hits, and if we had played better, we might have scored more runs. I think the players did their best today."

In the seventh inning, when Muneyama attempted to steal second base but was caught, it was stolen base base attempt on green light. "It was a green light, so it wasn't a hit-and-run. We were the ones who gave the sign for stolen base base, and he (Muneyama) thought he could do it, so the result is our responsibility," he said.

In defense, there was an instance where a fly ball between left field and shortstop resulted in hit due to a miscommunication. The manager said, "It happened the other day with Muneyama and Nakajima. There are rules and theories of baseball there, so we will review them again and make sure it doesn't happen again," expressing his hope for improvement.