Liván Moinelo earns fifth win for SoftBank against Orix in Japanese baseball

Foto: Wikimedia Commons / Gaffky (CC BY-SA 4.0) — Liván Moinelo with SoftBank Hawks

September 19, 2026

Cuban left-hander Liván Moinelo notched his fifth win of the 2026 season on September 15, leading the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks to a 5-3 victory over the Orix Buffaloes in Japan's Pacific League. Prensa Latina and Cubadebate reported that the Pinar del Río native worked six innings, allowing three hits, two runs (one earned), one walk and four strikeouts.

The outing lifted Moinelo to 5-1 with an ERA near 0.88, keeping him among the circuit's most effective starters. It also continues a strong stretch since he returned in August from a left-shoulder injury that sidelined him for nearly three months — the same form that helped him become Pacific League MVP in 2025, the first Cuban to win that award.

Official NPB game records confirm SoftBank's September 15 win over Orix. Moinelo, from San Juan y Martínez, has spent his entire professional career in Japan and remains one of the most accomplished Cuban pitchers in NPB history.

Fuente: Prensa Latina; Cubadebate; NPB

Liván Moinelo Pita

Sports, Baseball, Pitcher, Society, Professor

Liván is a baseball player for the Pinar del Río Baseball team, who made his debut in the LIIII National Baseball Series, 2013-2014 as a left-handed pitcher. He has had a good performance in his short career in this field. He participated in the 2015 Caribbean Series, with the Vegueros de Pinar del Río team, which was crowned champion of the same.