The 19th game between Orix Buffaloes and the Tohoku Rakuten Eagles will be held at Kyocera Dome Osaka on August 25th at 6 PM.

[Head-to-head record] Orix Buffaloes (4th place) vs. Tohoku Rakuten Eagles (6th place): 8 wins, 10 losses

[Announced Starting Pitcher]
Orix Buffaloes: pitcher Alen Kuri, 21 games, 8 wins, 8 losses, 2.97 ERA
Tohoku Rakuten Eagles: pitcher Tatsuki Ito 1 game, 0 wins, 0 losses, ERA 18.00

Orix Buffaloes 's Kotaro Kobayashi is in good form in August, batting .324. Against Tohoku Rakuten Eagles, he has recorded a .328 batting average and 4 Home Run in 18 games, and in the three-game series starting on the 11th, he had 5 hit 11 At Bat and 6 RBI. Starting pitcher Alen Kuri has also recorded 4 wins against Tohoku Rakuten Eagles this season. Expectations are high for both players who have a good record against the team.

Tohoku Rakuten Eagles 's second-round draft pick, pitcher Tatsuki Ito will take mound for his first professional start. In his previous appearance in the farm league on the 15th against Chiba Lotte Marines, he pitched well, throwing 89 pitches over 7 innings, allowing only 3 hits, hit strike out giving up no runs. His debut in the first team was a bittersweet one on June 5th against Hanshin Tigers, where he pitched in reliever, giving up 4 runs in 2 inning, but this time he will be looking to fulfill his role as a starter.

Written by Kai Nagi Niwa