The 10th game between Hokkaido Nippon-Ham and Orix will be held at ES CON FIELD from 1:00 p.m. on May 13th.

[Match results] Hokkaido Nippon-Ham (1st place) vs. Orix (2nd place) 3 wins, 5 losses, 1 draw

[Scheduled starting pitchers]
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham: pitcher Hiromi Ito 6 games, 4 wins, 1 loss, ERA 2.45
Orix: pitcher Alen Kuri 4 wins, 0 losses in 6 games, ERA 1.20

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham 's starting pitcher is Hiromi Ito. His last time on the mound was against Orix, and he was the win pitcher, allowing 6 hit 1 Hit by Pitch, 3 strike out 1 runs (0 earned runs) in 7 innings. He has now achieved HQS in 3 consecutive games, with 4 wins and 46 strike out, both of which are second in the league. Will he be able to pitch well and tie for the top spot with his 5th win?

Meanwhile, Orix 's starting pitcher, Alen Kuri, has pitched in three games against Hokkaido Nippon-Ham this season. In all three games, he has allowed no more than one runs over eight innings, and has won three games. In this fourth matchup, they hope to overwhelm the opposing team's batting line-up. In the batting line-up, Ryo Ota, who recorded a batting average of .411 in March and April and won his first monthly MVP award, has slowed down in May with a batting average of .147. It will be interesting to see if he can get back on track.

Text by Minami Niwa

・ Pacific League standings /individual results