The 15th game between Hokkaido Nippon-Ham and the Saitama Seibu Lions will be held at ES CON FIELD on July 12th at 1:00 PM.

[Head-to-head record] Hokkaido Nippon-Ham (3rd place) vs. Saitama Seibu Lions (2nd place): 7 wins, 7 losses

[Announced Starting Pitcher]
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham: pitcher Ren Fukushima 9 games, 3 wins, 2 losses, ERA 2.68
Saitama Seibu Lions: pitcher Chihiro Sumida 13 games, 6 wins, 5 losses, ERA 2.44

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham is aiming to move up to second place. Starting pitcher Ren Fukushima had a disappointing outing in his last start (on the 5th against Tohoku Rakuten Eagles), where he struggled with control from the first inning, allowing the opposing team to score first, and ultimately giving up 4 hit Hit by Pitch, and 3 runs in 2 innings. He has faced Saitama Seibu Lions once this season, where he earned a win, giving up 4 hits, hit strike out 1 runs in 6 innings. In this game, he will be aiming for his fourth win, showing the improvements he made since his last start.

The opposing Saitama Seibu Lions' starting pitcher Chihiro Sumida. In his previous start (on the 5th against Orix Buffaloes), he was lose pitcher, but he pitched a tenacious game, allowing 5 hit and 3 runs with no Hit by Pitch hit batsmen over 6 innings, achieving his 9th quality start of the season. He will pitch well in this game as well, earning his first win since the game against Orix Buffaloes on June 20th, and leading his team to a series win.

Written by Aoi Nemoto