CHIBA (Interstat) — The Orix Buffaloes will visit the Chiba Lotte Marines on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, at Chiba Marine Stadium. The forecast calls for 74 degrees Fahrenheit at game time. Orix enters at 63-71-2, while Lotte is 59-68-3.

Orix’s Tomoya Noguchi is a player to watch. He went 2-for-4 with one home run and three RBIs Monday in a 5-3 loss at Hokkaido Nippon Ham. He was 2-for-4 with one RBI Sunday in a 9-6 win at Nippon Ham. He also had one hit Sept. 16 against Fukuoka SoftBank and was 0-for-1 against Lotte on Sept. 5.

Lotte’s Shuta Takano is another to watch. He pitched seven innings, allowing seven hits and three earned runs with one walk and seven strikeouts Saturday in a 4-2 loss to Saitama Seibu. He worked seven innings Sept. 10 against Tohoku Rakuten, giving up six hits and one earned run with six strikeouts in a 6-1 win. On Sept. 1 against Seibu, he threw seven innings, yielding two hits and no earned runs with two walks and eight strikeouts in a 1-0 win.

The teams have met frequently this season. Lotte won the most recent meeting 3-0 on Sept. 6 at Orix. Orix won the prior two, 7-6 in 10 innings Sept. 5 and 3-1 Sept. 4. In August at Chiba, Lotte won 7-2 on Aug. 9 and 4-1 on Aug. 8, and Orix won 6-2 on Aug. 7. In July, Lotte won 3-2 on July 26, and Orix took 5-3 on July 25, 3-2 on July 24 and 7-2 on July 12.

Orix’s most recent game was a 5-3 loss at Nippon Ham on Monday. Noguchi had two hits, a home run and three RBIs. Ryoga Tomiyama pitched 1 1/3 innings with no hits, no earned runs and two strikeouts, and Kaito Saiki added one inning with no hits and no earned runs.

Lotte’s most recent decision was a 4-2 loss to Seibu on Saturday. Takano allowed three earned runs over seven innings with seven strikeouts. Neftali Soto went 1-for-2 with a home run and two RBIs. Koshiro Sakamoto pitched one inning with no hits, no earned runs, one walk and two strikeouts.

The teams will meet again Wednesday at Chiba Marine Stadium. Orix will then host Fukuoka SoftBank on Sept. 25 and Hokkaido Nippon Ham on Sept. 26 before visiting SoftBank on Sept. 27. Lotte will travel to Saitama Seibu on Sept. 25 and Sept. 26 before hosting Nippon Ham on Sept. 27 and Sept. 28.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a final score of Orix 5, Lotte 1. Interstat’s ELO system gives Lotte a 50.7 percent probability to win.