The victory, earned through sheer determination, was valuable. "It's been a long time, yes..." This was Orix's Soya's fifth win, his first in 74 days since the game against Yakult on June 10th (at Kyocera Dome). He spoke with genuine emotion after overcoming physical Orix Buffaloes, including a problem with his left elbow.

He didn't allow a single runner to reach second base, runs seven scoreless innings with only two hit allowed. "I think not letting the leadoff batter get on base was the biggest reason we won," he said proudly. He returned to the lineup on the 8th against Lotte (at ZOZO Marine Stadium), but suffered two consecutive losses. What cheered him up was the presence of his "family." He took advantage of one of his days off to return to Nara. His mother, Kaori, prepared a home-cooked meal for him. Fried chicken and a special hamburger steak with shiitake mushrooms, which he had requested. He breathed in the air of his hometown.

In the game against Nippon-Ham on the 16th (Kyocera Dome), he was knocked out in the middle of the 4th inning after giving up 5 runs. It was the anniversary of his grandfather Mitsuo Kitahata's death. In the summer of 2017, when he was a second-year student at Akita Meio High School, he played in Koshien. He watched his pitching appearance in the second round on television, and two days later, he passed away at the age of 76. He loved his grandfather very much. Even though it was a week late, he could report win to him.

With ace pitchers Miyagi and Yamashita absent from the starting rotation, the left-hander remained positive, saying, "I want to prepare for the next week and the future." Manager Kishida praised him, saying, "He seemed to have real confidence and a sense of superiority." With 29 games remaining to make the playoffs, the powerful pitching of this true powerhouse is shining a light of hope. (Toru Nagata)