The first game of the "Nippon Life Interleague Series 2026" between the Tokyo Yakult and Hokkaido Nippon-Ham will be held at Jingu Stadium on June 5th at 6 PM.

[Last season's head-to-head record] Tokyo Yakult vs. Hokkaido Nippon-Ham: 0 wins, 3 losses

[Announced Starting Pitcher]
Tokyo Yakult: pitcher Taichi Yamano, 9 games, 7 wins, 1 loss, ERA 2.06
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham: pitcher Ren Fukushima 5 games, 2 wins, 2 losses, ERA 2.84

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham starting pitcher will be Ren Fukushima. In his last start (May 28 against Hanshin Tigers), he earned his second win of the season, pitching 7 innings, allowing 5 hit, no walks Hit by Pitch and only 1 runs. This will be his first appearance at Jingu Stadium against Tokyo Yakult, but can he contain the league's powerful lineup? Yuki Nomura has recorded 6 hits in 9 At Bat hit in the previous two games of the series. The day before, he was the only player on the team to get 3 hit.

Text by Kanako Fukushima