The Orix Buffaloes made the most of interleague play.

The Kansai club limped into the interleague slate three games under .500 and in fifth place in the Pacific League standings. What followed was a 12-5-1 run against the Central League from May 25 to June 13. The Buffaloes won the interleague title for the first time since 2010 and will go back into intraleague play in third place and three games above .500.

Buffaloes manager Satoshi Nakajima was at a loss to explain the team's turnaround.