The third game between the Saitama Seibu Lions and Hokkaido Nippon-Ham will be held at Belluna Dome on April 5th at 2 PM.

[Head-to-head record] Saitama Seibu Lions (6th place) vs. Tohoku Rakuten Eagles (tied for 2nd place): 0 wins, 2 losses

[Announced Starting Pitcher]
Saitama Seibu Lions: Kaima Taira pitcher 1 game, 1 win, 0 losses, 0.00 ERA
Tohoku Rakuten Eagles: pitcher Sota Fujiwara, 1 game, 0 wins, 1 loss, ERA 9.00

Saitama Seibu Lions 's starting pitcher, Kaima Taira​ ​Taira, pitched a complete game shutout in his last start (on the 29th against Chiba Lotte Marines), throwing 119 pitches over 9 innings, allowing only 5 hit, 3 Hit by Pitch hit batsmen strike out 5, and giving up no runs—his first career shutout game win. In the batting lineup, keep an eye on Canario. He had a strong batting average of .304 during the preseason, but his performance dropped to .182 after the season started. Nevertheless, he's currently on a two-game hit streak, and his hitting is gradually improving, so there are high expectations for him.

On the opposing side, Tohoku Rakuten Eagles will be keeping an eye on Daisuke Nakashima. In the previous game, he went 0-hit struck out with two At Bat, struggling with a batting average of .174. However, he had a good record against Saitama Seibu Lions last season, with a batting average of .303, so he will be hoping to find a way to regain his form in this game.

Written by Aoi Nishijima