On May 31st at 1:00 PM, the third game of the "Nippon Life Interleague Series 2026" between Hokkaido Nippon-Ham and the Yomiuri The Giants will be held at ES CON FIELD.

[Head-to-head record] Hokkaido Nippon-Ham (Pacific League, 4th place) vs. The Giants (Central League, 3rd place): 0 wins, 2 losses

[Announced Starting Pitcher]
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham: pitcher Koki Kitayama 8 games, 3 wins, 2 losses, ERA 2.84
The Giants: Kazuyuki Takemaru pitcher 8 games, 5 wins, 3 losses, ERA 2.91

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham will start pitcher Koki Kitayama. In his last start (on the 24th against Fukuoka Softbank), he was hit hard, giving up 8 hit 6 runs in 4 innings. Last season against The Giants, he pitched complete game win, giving up only 1 hit 1 runs in 9 innings. In the batting lineup, keep an eye on Kotaro Kiyomiya. He has struggled in May with a monthly batting average of .181, but in the last game he played as the cleanup hitter and first first baseman, recording 2 hit 1 hit. He has responded well to being placed in the cleanup spot.

Written by Aoi Nishijima