◆ Pacific League Seibu Lions 3-2 Orix Buffaloes (19th, Belluna Dome)

Orix Buffaloes Soichiro Yamazaki pitcher (28) delivered an impressive mound performance. With a one-run lead in the eighth, he finished the first inning perfectly as the pitch second pitcher. He shut off the leadoff pinch hitter Tsuyoshi Nakamura on a fly out to center with a slider, then retired Nishikawa on a grounder to second with a fork. With two outs, he recorded the fastest pitch of the day at 159 km/h on his second pitch to Kojima. He finally got the ball out on a triple fly with a fastball, raising his 16th hold. He expressed his positive impression, saying, "Lately, my fastball feel is really good."

Mukuki, who has mainly been tasked with pitching eight innings in winning games, was removed from the roster on the 14th due to poor upper body condition. "Right now, since there's no Mook, I hope I can somehow manage to hold the pitch," he said, and after the departure of his junior right-hander, he closer eight innings in two consecutive games, inning one runs without . Until last season, his appearances in the past two years had been only 7 or 28, but this season marks his 42nd appearance. As he approaches his goal of "50 games," manager Kishida praised the strength of his pitch, saying, "He was producing quite a bit of output. His form isn't bad."

In the ninth inning, closer Machado failed to secure a save for the first time this season, resulting in the team's fourth consecutive loss. This puts the team at its worst deficit of three games in manager Kishida's second year, widening the gap with third-place Nippon-Ham to eight games. "I've been working at full capacity the whole time. Things are going smoothly so far, so I hope I can finish the season without injury," said Soichiro. As long as there's a chance, he'll keep believing and giving it his all. (Shunta Nanbu)