The second game between Hokkaido Nippon-Ham and Chiba Lotte Marines will be held at ES CON FIELD on April 1st at 6:30 PM.

[Head-to-head record] Hokkaido Nippon-Ham (tied for 5th place) vs. Chiba Lotte Marines (tied for 2nd place): 1 win, 0 losses

[Announced Starting Pitcher]
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham: pitcher Koki Kitayama 22 games, 9 wins, 5 losses, 1.63 ERA (last season)
Chiba Lotte Marines: pitcher Jackson had a record of 10 wins and 7 losses in 25 games ERA of 2.33 (last season).

　Haruki Hosono Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters dramatically secured their first win of the season thanks to a brilliant pitcher performance. Koki Kitayama pitcher will make his first appearance of the season. In the preseason games, he pitched as the second reliever in a game against the Tokyo Yakult on March 22nd, throwing 66 pitches over 3.1 innings, allowing 4 hit strike out runs 1 run. All eyes will be on the right-pitch, who recorded the second-best ERA in the league last season.

On the other hand, Chiba Lotte Marines Jackson pitcher made his first start and appearance since transferring teams. The hard-throwing right-hander, who joined the team this season, recorded 50 appearances, 293.2 innings pitched, 99 runs allowed (85 earned runs), and ERA of 2.60 during his two seasons with Yokohama DeNA. He will be looking to stop the momentum of Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters' offense.

Text by Ayako Kikuchi