The 7th round match between Saitama Seibu Lions vs. Fukuoka Softbank will be played on May 4 at 6:00 p.m. at Belluna Dome.

Saitama Seibu Lions (3rd place) vs. Fukuoka Softbank (2nd place) 4-2

The preliminary round
Saitama Seibu Lions: Shinya Sugai pitcher 4 games, 0-2, ERA 3.98
Fukuoka Softbank Saitama: 0-2 in 4 games, 3.98 Hsu Jo-Hsi pitcher 3 games, 1 win and 2 losses, ERA 4.91

Saitama Seibu Lions is starting Shinya Sugai pitcher. In April, they faced Fukuoka Softbank and both pitched well, 6 no runs innings on the 9th and 5 1 runs innings on the 23rd. In the last game, he pitched 88 pitches 6 hit 2 Walk 5 strike out 1 runs in 5 innings with tenacity even though he had to runner each time. With his signature breaking ball as a weapon, he hopes to grab his first win of the season.

Against Fukuoka Softbank, the starter is Hsu Jo-Hsi pitcher. In their last outing (April 17, against Orix Buffaloes), they fell apart in the early innings and ended up with a disappointing 6 hit 5 4 Hit by Pitch 7 runs in 1.2 innings. On the other hand, against Saitama Seibu Lions, he pitched a great game on April 8, win failing to pitch 1 runs in 7 innings. Will he be able to regain his true pitching form in his first appearance in about two weeks?

Text by Aoi Nemoto