◆ Pacific League: Lotte 2-6 Orix Buffaloes (July 7th, ZOZO Marine Stadium)

Orix Buffaloes defeated Lotte with a barrage of home runs, putting them back in the lead with one win above .500. In the first inning, with one out, Yamanaka hit his second home run of the season over the center field fence. In the fifth inning, with the score tied 2-2, Nishikawa hit his eighth home run of the season, a two-run shot over the center field fence, with no outs and a runner on first. With two outs, Kita hit his fifth home run of the season over the right field fence. Manager Kishida nodded and said, "They scored runs with extra-base hits when they had the chance, and the pitching and hitting were working together really well. It was a huge help."

Starting pitcher Teranishi earned his fourth win, pitching six innings with a line of 6 hit and 2 runs. This was his first win as a starter in three months, dating back to April 16 against the Seibu Lions (Kyocera Dome Osaka), when he recorded his first save of the season win.In the third inning, with no outs bases loaded, he retired Yamaguchi on a flyout to left field and Soto on a groundout to third double play, keeping the bases clear runs. The manager commented, “He looked like he was struggling a bit in terms of his control, but his pitches still had power until the very end, and Kenya (Wakatsuki) did a great job pulling the ball. He was pitching very carefully.”

In the eighth inning, Kita and Moritomo gave up consecutive Hit by Pitch from leadoff, and with two outs and runners on first and second, Yamanaka was also hit by the team. From Lotte's Sakamoto, he tied the pro baseball with a 1 inning 3 Hit by Pitch. Still, Manager Kishida revealed, "(All three) are fine," and confirmed that there were no injuries or other issues.