The 18th game between Orix Buffaloes and Fukuoka Softbank will be held at Kyocera Dome Osaka starting at 6 PM on August 28th.

[Head-to-head record] Orix Buffaloes (4th place) vs. Fukuoka Softbank (1st place): 9 wins, 8 losses

[Announced Starting Pitcher]
Orix Buffaloes: pitcher Espinoza, 18 games, 11 wins (tied for 1st), 4 losses, ERA 2.46 (3rd)
Fukuoka Softbank: pitcher Yugo Maeda 14 games, 10 wins (tied for 3rd place), 0 losses, ERA 1.98

Orix Buffaloes 's starting pitcher will be Espinoza. In their previous encounter (July 21st), he earned the win with 7 innings pitched, 4 hit and 1 runs. So far this season, he has a good record against Fukuoka Softbank, with 2 wins in 2 games and ERA of 2.08. Can he deliver another stable pitch in this game and secure his league-leading 12th win? On the offensive side, we can expect good things from Yuma Mune who hit Home Run in his last encounter with pitcher Maeda Yu.

Fukuoka Softbank will be starting pitcher Yu Maeda, who has been pitch brilliantly this season with 10 wins and no losses so far. In August, he has pitched 18 inning in 3 games, giving up 8 runs and a monthly ERA of 4.00, so his performance has been a bit slump. However, in their previous encounter with Orix Buffaloes (July 8th), he pitched 7 innings and gave up only 1 runs, fulfilling his role well. Can he extend his winning streak even further?