The 21st game between Hokkaido Nippon-Ham and Tohoku Rakuten will be held at ES CON FIELD from 6:00 p.m. on August 29th.

[Match record] Hokkaido Nippon-Ham (2nd place) vs. Tohoku Rakuten (4th place) 15 wins, 4 losses, 1 draw

[Scheduled starting pitchers]
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham pitcher Koki Kitayama: 17 games, 7 wins, 4 losses, 1.69 ERA
Tohoku Rakuten: pitcher Kosei Shoji: 7 games, 3 wins, 0 losses, ERA 2.52

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters lost one game and drew one against Saitama Seibu on the road, failing to take the lead. They will return to their home field to face fourth-place Tohoku Rakuten. Koki Kitayama This will be pitcher 's third start against Tohoku Rakuten this season. On April 10th, he win the match, strike out out eight pitcher and allowing runs in six innings. However, on August 15th, he strike out six batters and allowed three runs (two earned runs) in six innings, but the team's batting line did not provide much support, resulting in a loss. In his third matchup, Kitayama hopes to pile up his struck out and secure win.

In the batting order Yuya Gunji The player has been performing well against Tohoku Rakuten. In 13 games, he has 20 At Bat 49 hit, 3 Home Run, and a batting average of .408, so expectations are high for his performance in this three-game series.

Tohoku Rakuten Kosei Shoji Of the three wins pitcher has had this season, two of them have come against Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Ham Fighters. In the game on May 24th, runs one run in six innings, and on August 15th, he pitched well, giving up one runs in seven innings and striking out strike out. It will be his first time on mound at ES CON FIELD in two years, but will he be able to pitch well? In addition, the Tohoku Rakuten batting line-up has been performing well, recording double-digit hit three times in the last five games. Currently, he is Pacific League leading hitter. Itsuki Murabayashi The player is batting .375 (12 At Bat 32 hit) with one Home Run at ES CON FIELD.

Text by Ayako Kikuchi

・ Pacific League standings /individual results