Pacific League Rakuten 2-3 Orix (24th, Rakuten Mobile Park)
Orix won a close game and finished the three-game series in Sendai with a record of 2 wins and 1 loss. This was their first win in two games, and they now have a 4-game lead over fourth-place Rakuten. Manager Kishida expressed his satisfaction, saying, “Today’s win was huge.”
Starting pitcher Espinoza gave up one runs in seven innings to earn his fourth win. He earned his first win in seven games since the July 1st game Seibu (Naha), and was praised by the right-handed pitcher, who said, “It was great that he pitched until the seventh inning. He did a great job.”
The batting line scored two runs in the first two innings against Rakuten ‘s Norimoto, who was starting for the first time in 684 days. In the seventh inning with the score at 2-1, Wakatsuki hit his fifth solo home run over the left field fence to put the team ahead. “(Norimoto) is obviously a good pitcher. I’m glad we were able to score in the first and second innings. I think the players who were playing the whole time, like Wakatsuki, were pretty tired, but they really worked hard this week,” he praised.
The team won six consecutive away games in Hokkaido and Sendai, and will now play two consecutive games against Lotte at Kyocera Dome and Hotto Kobe starting on the 26th. The manager tightened the reins, saying, “There are still many tough games ahead, so we will take it one game at a time.”
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AloJapan.com