Pacific League: Orix Buffaloes 4-12 Rakuten Eagles (27th, Kyocera Dome Osaka)

The Orix Buffaloes suffered a crushing defeat, and with 26 games remaining, the gap between them and third-place Nippon-Ham, who are in the Climax Series playoff spot, widened to seven games. Manager Mamoru Kishida had a stern expression regarding the poor performance of starter Jerry, saying, "It's exactly as you saw. He didn't last through the third inning." Giving up eight runs in 2 2/3 innings, a personal worst since coming to Japan, made it impossible to compete.

After three innings, it was a one-sided game, 0-10. In the top of the fourth inning, the starting catcher Wakatsuki was taken out, and third-year high school graduate Hori was brought in, with the manager saying, "I wanted him to wear the mask for a longer time." Hori got his first hit of the season in the seventh inning, a single to center field. Manager Kishida said, "He's got it. Well, there's still a long way to go," expressing his hopes for future growth.

With a monthly losing record confirmed for the third consecutive month, the team's deficit fell to a season-worst tie of three games below .500. Ahead of a three-game series against the league-leading Softbank Hawks starting on the 28th, he was determined to turn things around, saying, 'Since Espi (Espinoza) is pitching tomorrow, I hope we can somehow get him the win.'