Pacific League: Orix Buffaloes vs. Rakuten Eagles (26th, Kyocera Dome Osaka)

Orix Buffaloes pitcher Ren Mukunoki joined the first team. The right-hander, who was removed from the active roster on the 14th due to poor upper body condition, returned to game action on the 25th in a farm practice game against Osaka University of Economics (at Sugimoto Shoji BS). He showed an excellent performance, pitching one inning with nine pitches, allowing no hits and no runs, and recording one strike out.

Before his injury, he was mainly entrusted with the 8th inning of winning games, and currently, he is tied with Lotte's Suzuki for the most holds in the league with hold After the game on the 25th, manager Kishida explained, "It seems like he's putting in the effort, and so far, I've heard that he's fine after pitching. (Going forward) we'll see how he reacts tomorrow." As the "man of the 8th inning" who hands the ball over to closer Machado, he is within striking distance of his first career Best reliever award. It seems that the day when the rapidly improving 2021 first-round draft pick right-hander returns to bullpen is approaching.