On June 4th at 18:00, the third round of the 'Nippon Life Interleague 2026' will be held on Jingu Stadium in the Tokyo Yakult vs. Chiba Lotte Marines.

[Head-to-head Record] Tokyo Yakult (Central League, 1st place) vs Chiba Lotte Marines (Pacific League, 5th place) 1 win, 1 loss

[Announced Starting Lineup]
Tokyo Yakult: Yasuhiro Ogawa pitcher 6 games, 1 win, 3 losses, ERA 4.91
Chiba Lotte Marines: Kazuya Ojima pitcher 5 games, 1 win, 4 losses, ERA 3.07

　Kazuya Ojima pitcher returned to pitching since May 22 against Tohoku Rakuten Eagles, when he earned his first win of the season. This was his first appearance of the season in interleague games, marking his fourth overall encounter with Tokyo Yakult.

Looking back at previous encounters, the 2022 matches held in Jingu Stadium ended in 6 innings and 1 runs, with no winners (the team lost after a come-from-behind loss). In 2024, he rose to the mound at Jingu again, combining his 7 hit in 5 innings with 7 strike out 3 runs to win pitcher. However, last year, when they faced each other in Zozo Marine Stadium, they got off to a perfect start but got caught up in the middle and lost 4 runs in 5 innings.

Also, as a hitter, although he has had few opportunities since turning pro, he has been at bat in interleague games, but he has yet to hit. In this game without the DH system, will he make his first professional hit as the ninth batter? I want to shine with a Jingu Stadium filled with memories from my Waseda days.

Text by Ayako Kikuchi