The seventh game between Fukuoka Softbank and Tohoku Rakuten will be held at MIZUHO PayPay Dome from 6:00 p.m. on May 16th.

[Match record] Fukuoka Softbank (4th place) vs. Tohoku Rakuten (5th place) 1 win, 5 losses

[Scheduled starting pitchers]
Fukuoka Softbank: pitcher Kohei Arihara: 2 wins, 3 losses in 7 games, ERA 4.11
Tohoku Rakuten: pitcher Masaru Fujii: 0 wins, 2 losses in 5 games, ERA 3.62

Starting pitcher for Fukuoka Softbank is Kohei Arihara. On April 25th, he pitched a great game against Tohoku Rakuten with 5 hit no runs in 8 innings, earning his first win of the season, and has been pitching steadily ever since. The focus of attention in the batting lineup is Yuto Akihiro, who joined the team from The Giants in a trade. He was registered with the first team on the 15th and immediately made an appearance in starting line-up starting lineup as "6th batter and left fielder", recording his first hit since the transfer in his third at-bat. Will he be able to live up to expectations?

On the other hand, Tohoku Rakuten 's starting pitcher, Masaru Fujii pitched well in his last match against Fukuoka Softbank on April 15th, giving up 3 hit, 2 Walk, 6 strike out 1 runs (0 earned runs) in the 7th inning. In his last appearance, he gave up 7 hit 3 Walk 4 runs in 3 innings, which was not enough to show his true potential, but will he be able to fix that and take on the game? Also, he has taken to mound in the 7th inning 3 times this season, but was unable to finish any of them. He will need to overcome this hurdle and earn the team's trust.

Written by Kai Nagi Niwa

・ Pacific League standings /individual results