◆ Pacific League Rakuten Eagles Orix Buffaloes (13th, Rakuten Eagles Mobile Saikyo Park Miyagi)

Orix Buffaloes has returned to a .500 winning percentage. They won their first series at Rakuten Eagles Mobile's strongest park, Miyagi, where they had a 1-7 record this season. Manager Mamoru Kishida's aggressive pitching rotation strategy has paid off.

He replaced starter Tajima in the 3rd inning, 2 runs, and 82 pitches. In the 4th, Kurebayashi's timely hit and Kurita's two-run doble helped the team take the lead. Katayama was brought in from the 4th inning and runs 2 innings without . In the 5th, Nishikawa's 9th two-run homer cut the gap to 3 runs, and Kawase and Iriyama held off the 6th and 7th innings.

In the 8th inning, Yamazaki pitched a great relief appearance, retiring the side in order instead of the usual Mukunoki. The offense also scored three runs in the 9th inning, taking advantage of Rakuten Eagles 's lapse in concentration.

Starting on the 14th, they will return to their home stadium, Kyocera Dome Osaka, for a three-game series against the third-place Nippon-Ham, who are six games behind and within striking distance of a playoff spot. The team will work together to close the gap.