On October 11th at 14:00, the second game of the "2026 PERSOL Climax Series Pa" first baseman stage between Saitama Seibu Lions and Hokkaido Nippon-Ham will be held at Belluna Dome.

【Head-to-head record】Saitama Seibu Lions (2nd) vs Hokkaido Nippon-Ham (3rd) 1 win, 0 losses

【Probable Starters】
Saitama Seibu Lions: Kona Takahashi pitcher 22 games 9 wins 6 losses, ERA 2.54
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham: Kota Tatsu pitcher 27 games 5 wins 8 losses, ERA 2.96

For Saitama Seibu Lions, pitcher Kona Takahashi will take the mound as the starter on five days' rest. In his final regular-season appearance, he pitched tenaciously, allowing 1 runs on 7 hit with 8 strike out over 6 innings. This season, he appeared in 3 games against Hokkaido Nippon-Ham with an ERA of 4.67. In his last matchup (July 11th), he was hit hard, allowing 7 runs in 4.1 innings, but can he secure a spot in the Final Stage with a pitch that brings momentum? In the lineup, pay attention to Manaya Nishikawa. Although his batting average against Hokkaido Nippon-Ham was .158 in the regular season, he was active in Game 1 with 2 hit and 2 stolen base, including the game-tying hit.

On the other hand, for Hokkaido Nippon-Ham, pitcher Kota Tatsu will start. At Belluna Dome, he has appeared in 4 games including as a reliever, pitching well with 4 earned runs in a total of 18 innings for an ERA of 2.00. Also, in last season's "PERSOL CS Pa," he kept the game competitive by throwing 6 scoreless innings in Game 1 of the Final Stage and allowing 2 runs (1 earned runs) in 5.2 innings in Game 6. The team is in a situation where there is no tomorrow to reach the Final Stage, but can he bring the series back to even?

Text by Rihoko Niwa