Seibu Lions win Nippon-Ham 6-3 on the 17th, moving into first place over Orix Buffaloes.

In March and April, they had a losing record of 13 wins, 15 losses, and 1 draw, but in May, they went on a seven-game winning streak from the game against Softbank Hawks on the 6th to the game against Nippon-Ham on the 15th, finishing with an 11-3 record. They are currently on a five-game winning streak.

In recent years, while the team has had strong pitcher, their batting lineup has been a weakness. However, their team batting average is currently the best in the league at .252, and their 167 runs scored are second in the league, indicating that their offense is functioning well. When Masayuki Kuwahara, who had been hitting well at the start of the season with a .318 batting average, was removed from the active roster on April 22nd, there were many concerns about their scoring ability. However, since Nevin returned from injury in May, the batting lineup has come together, and with Taiga Hirasawa at number 6 and Natsuo Takizawa at number 9 adding momentum to the lineup, it has become a lineup that can score from anywhere.

The pitcher lineup, which had been strong until last season, has been fully revived by Kosei Takahashi, who has played the ace role so far with 5 wins (2 losses) and a ERA 0.87. Kaima Taira, who switched from closer to starter, has also won 3 wins (1 loss) and posted a ERA of 0.80, including being named the monthly MVP for March and April. Yutaro Watanabe, Natsuki Takeuchi, Chihiro Sumida, Shinya Sugai, and even new foreign winemakers are on lineup. bullpen also includes rookie Hakua Iwaki who serves as guardians, along with Hiroshi Kaino, Hibiki Shinohara, Masaya Kuroda, and Shota Hamaya.

pitcher staff has proven to be reasonably reliable over the past few years. If they can maintain their current batting performance, a league championship for the first time since 2019 is within reach.