The 21st game between Orix Buffaloes and Hokkaido Nippon-Ham will be held at Kyocera Dome Osaka on August 16th at 1:00 PM.

[Head-to-head record] Orix Buffaloes (4th place) vs. Hokkaido Nippon-Ham (3rd place): 7 wins, 13 losses

[Announced Starting Pitcher]
Orix Buffaloes: pitcher Ryuhei Sotani, 9 games, 4 wins, 4 losses, ERA 3.46
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham: Kohei Arihara pitcher 10 games, 4 wins, 6 losses, ERA 4.20

Orix Buffaloes pitcher Ryuhei Sotani made his first appearance in the first team in two months on the 8th. He started against Chiba Lotte Marines but gave up a flurry of hits in the first inning, finishing with 5 hit 4 runs allowed in 5 innings. Will he pitch well from the start this time and get win since June 10th? On the offensive side, Ryoma Nishikawa is in good form with hit in 6 consecutive games. He has recorded multiple hit in 2 consecutive games in this series.

On the other hand, Hokkaido Nippon-Ham-Ham's pitcher Kohei Arihara recorded his second consecutive shutout game win in his last start against Tohoku Rakuten Eagles, throwing 118 pitches over 9 innings, allowing only 6 hit out 11, strike out up no runs. Although he has a 2-2 record against Orix Buffaloes, he has suffered two losses in two games at Kyocera Dome Osaka this season. He will be looking to continue his excellent pitching and secure a win on the road.

Written by Kai Nagi Niwa