On September 19th at 2:00 PM, the 21st round between the Rakuten Eagles and Fukuoka Softbank will be held at Rakuten Mobile Saikyo Park Miyagi.

【Match Record】 Rakuten Eagles (6th) vs Fukuoka Softbank (1st) 9 wins, 11 losses

【Probable Starters】
Rakuten Eagles: Takahisa Hayakawa pitcher 20 games 6 wins 8 losses, ERA 2.84
Fukuoka Softbank: Yugo Maeda pitcher 17 games 12 wins (tied for 1st) 0 losses, ERA 1.90

For the Rakuten Eagles, we want to focus on McCusker. In games against Fukuoka Softbank this season, he has recorded 6 Home Runs in 9 games, including hitting 3 Home Runs in a single game on July 10th. He also recorded a Home Run in his previous matchup against pitcher Yugo Maeda; will he be the breakthrough to conquer this difficult opponent? Starting pitcher Takahisa Hayakawa is currently on a 3-game losing streak. He hopes to pitch well to secure his first win in a month.

Fukuoka Softbank, who clinched their third consecutive title with a 9-game winning streak on the 17th, will start pitcher Yugo Maeda, who contributed greatly to the championship with an undefeated 12-game winning streak. While the left-hander has maintained an impressive ERA of 1.90 so far, in his previous matchup against the Rakuten Eagles on August 2nd, he gave up 5 runs in 6 innings, including two Home Runs. Can he get his revenge and secure his league-leading 13th win?

Text by Minagi Niwa