The fifth game between Hokkaido Nippon-Ham and Fukuoka Softbank will be held at ES CON FIELD on April 12th at 1:00 PM.

[Head-to-head record] Hokkaido Nippon-Ham (tied for 2nd place) vs. Fukuoka Softbank (1st place): 0 wins, 4 losses

[Announced Starting Pitcher]
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham: Kohei Arihara pitcher 2 games, 1 win, 1 loss, ERA 4.85
Fukuoka Softbank: pitcher Haru Matsumoto, 2 games, 2 wins, 0 losses, ERA 2.08

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham will start pitcher Kohei Arihara. In their previous encounter (March 29th), he was hit hard, giving up 10 hit 7 runs (5 earned runs) in 6 innings, struggling against his former team. He will be looking to deliver a strong performance in this second matchup. In the batting lineup, keep an eye on Reyes. He has a good batting average of .270, but in his last 3 games, he has been hit in a total of 11 At Bat. He will be looking to contribute to the team as their main slugger.

Fukuoka Softbank 's starting pitcher, Haru Matsumoto, pitched a tenacious 6 innings, allowing only 2 runs, in his second start of the season to secure his first win. In his last start (April 4th against Chiba Lotte Marines), he pitched a quality start, allowing only 1 runs in 7 innings, earning his second win and steadily accumulating win. Ukyo Shuto returned to starting line-up after a two-game absence and recorded two hit. He is struggling with a batting average of .195, but he will be looking to improve his performance from here on out.

Written by Aoi Nishijima