On June 12th at 18:00, the first round of the 'Nippon Life Central and Pacific League Interleague 2026' will be held on Belluna Dome, featuring Saitama Seibu Lions and The Giants.

[Last Season's Head-to-Head Record] Saitama Seibu Lions vs. The Giants 1 win, 2 losses

[Announced Starting Lineup]
Saitama Seibu Lions: Kosei Takahashi pitcher 9 games, 6 wins, 3 losses, ERA 1.19
The Giants: Kazuyuki Takemaru pitcher 9 games, 5 wins, 4 losses, ERA 2.98

Saitama Seibu Lions, aiming for their first-ever interleague championship in team history, are currently on a five-game winning streak. Fukuoka Softbank and Hokkaido Nippon-Ham, who are competing for the top spot, are also on a winning streak and are fighting hard to lose.

The starting pitcher was Mitsunari Takahashi, who had been pitching well up to this point, pitcher. In his previous appearance in the Chunichi game, he gave up walk-off bats in the bottom of the ninth without run and was lose pitcher, but pitched 8.2 innings with 121 pitches, 6 hit, 3 Walk, and 1 runs. This season, he has an impressive home record of 4 wins and 1 loss, with a ERA of 1.01. With the support of the fans, it could be his 7th league-leading win.

In the lineup, Yuto Koga entered the starting line-up as the cleanup hitter for the first time in the previous day's game. This season, with the addition of Taiga Kojima players, his playing time has decreased compared to last year, but his batting is still strong with a .337 average. He also showed clutch performance with a batting average of .391 with runners in scoring position, recording two timely hits on the 10th.

Text by Minagi Niwa