The first game of the "Nippon Life Interleague Series 2026" between the Saitama Seibu Lions and the Yokohama DeNA BayStars will be held at Belluna Dome on May 29th at 6 PM.

[Last season's head-to-head record] Saitama Seibu Lions vs. Yokohama DeNA: 2 wins, 1 loss

[Announced Starting Pitcher]
Saitama Seibu Lions: pitcher Kosei Takahashi, 7 games, 5 wins, 2 losses, ERA 0.87
Yokohama DeNA: Shunya Shimada pitcher 3 games, 1 win, 0 losses, ERA 2.30

The Saitama Seibu Lions Lions will face their former team, the Yokohama DeNA BayStars, in their first regular season game as free agent signing Masayuki Kuwahara Kuwahara this season. In the previous day's game against the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, he recorded two hit, including his first RBI since returning to the team in the 9th inning. Along with the team's offense, which has been in good form with double-digit hit in two consecutive games, he will be looking to show his skills in front of his former team.

On the other hand, starting pitcher Kosei Takahashi will be making his first start in about two weeks since May 13th. In his previous start against Fukuoka Softbank, he pitched brilliantly, allowing only 3 hit 1 runs 9 innings, earning his 5th win of the season. He is currently second in the league in both win and ERA, but has not won an interleague game since 2021. Can he show his good form in this game and secure his first interleague win since 2019?

Written by Kai Nagi Niwa