Pacific League: Orix Buffaloes vs. Rakuten Eagles (25th, Kyocera Dome Osaka)

Orix Buffaloes pitcher Kyosuke Saito joined the first team on the 25th. Having joined the team as the third draft pick in 2022 from Morioka Chuo in Iwate, he has recorded 5 wins and 2 losses with a 3.22 ERA in 14 farm league games this season, his fourth year as a professional. On July 22, he made his first first-team appearance in two years in a game against the Softbank Hawks (at Mizuho PayPay Dome), but he struggled, giving up 8 hits and 7 runs in 1/3 of an inning, and was removed from the active roster the following day, the 23rd.

ERA in the first team jumped to 189.00, and since then he has started three games in the same league. In the game against Softbank Hawks on the 18th (Hotto Motto Kobe), he pitched well, allowing only four hit and two runs while striking out eight strike out innings, pitcher win. If his adjustments continue smoothly, he is expected to make his first start of the season in the three-game series against Rakuten Eagles (Kyocera Dome Osaka). For the right-hander, who earned two wins in 2024, his second year out of high school, this will likely be mound for revenge.