SAPPORO (Interstat) — Takayuki Katoh allowed three hits and three earned runs over six innings, striking out five and walking two, as the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters defeated the Orix Buffaloes 5-3 on the afternoon of Monday, Sept. 21, 2026, at Sapporo Dome. Katoh earned the win, improving to 12-3. Taisuke Yamaoka took the loss, falling to 0-1. Taisei Yanagawa pitched a hitless inning for his 27th save. Ryoga Tomiyama pitched 1 1/3 hitless innings with two strikeouts for Orix. Chusei Mannami went 3 for 4 with an RBI. Kotaro Kiyomiya hit a solo home run, and Yuki Nomura and Haruki Nishikawa added RBI singles. Tatsuki Mizuno drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. Tomoya Noguchi went 2 for 4 with a three-run homer for Orix. Nippon-Ham finished with 10 hits, while Orix had six. The Fighters improved to 74-59-3. The Buffaloes fell to 63-71-2. Attendance was 34,564. The game took 3 hours, 18 minutes. Mizuki Hori and Yi-Lei Sun each threw a scoreless inning for Nippon-Ham.