◇ Orix Buffaloes vs Tohoku Rakuten Eagles 14th Round (5th, Kyocera Dome Osaka)

​Orix Buffaloes Ryoma Nishikawa player hit his seventh solo home run to open the scoring.

In the first inning with neither team scoring and two outs runner no contestants, he entered his first at-bat and caught a fastball from the opposing starter, Ryota Takinaka pitcher, from count 2-1. The ball struck the back screen, and with a single home run for the first time since July 12, he gave the team a valuable first run.

Nishikawa had been in good form with a .345 average in June and .287 in July, but in August, he was somewhat sluggish, going 12 At Bat 1 hit (pre-game). Can this hit serve as a turning point to improve his form again?

◇ Comment from Player Nishikawa
"Since we were beaten last time, I stepped up to the plate determined to get back at it. I'm glad it turned out to be a good result. I'll keep doing my best until the very end."

Text by Aoi Nishijima