On July 10th, the 13th game between Hokkaido Nippon-Ham and the Saitama Seibu Lions, held at ES CON FIELD, ended with a 2-1 win for the Saitama Seibu Lions.

Starting pitcher Natsuki Takeuchi allowed a run in the bottom of the 3rd inning with one out and runner on third base, due to fielder’s choice. In the bottom of the 4th inning, he allowed triple, but escaped the inning without runs thanks to a successful steal attempt. From the 5th inning onward, he pitched steadily, striking out strike out in every pitch, and left mound after 7 innings, 104 pitches, 4 hit 1 Walk 8 strike out, and 1 runs run.

The batting lineup struggled against opposing starting pitcher Hiromi Ito, remaining scoreless until the top of the 7th inning when Masayuki Kuwahara hit his 3rd home run of the season to tie the game. In the top of the 8th inning, Canario led off with a hit, creating hit opportunity with runners on second and third with one out, and Nevin 's sacrifice fly gave them the lead.

In the bottom of the 8th inning, pitcher Wingenter closer the game, and in the bottom of the 9th, pitcher Kaihino Hiroshi Kaino closed it out, ending the game with a score of 2-1. Saitama Seibu Lions won the close game, and pitcher Takeuchi earned his 6th win of the season. At bat, Kuwahara hit a game-tying home run, his first hit in 27 at-bats.

Despite a strong outing, Hokkaido Nippon-Ham pitcher Ito threw 103 pitches over 7 innings, allowing 5 hit, 3 Walk strike out 7, and runs only 1 run, but the offense was unable to provide any support. They were limited to just 5 hit 1 run against the opposing pitcher staff.

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Nishi ○ Natsuki Takeuchi- Wingenter - S Hiroshi Kaino
Ito Hiromi Ito- ● Hiroya Shimamoto-Seigi Tanaka

Written by Kai Nagi Niwa