Starting at 6:00 p.m. on June 13, the second game of the “Nippon Life Central-Pacific Interleague Series 2026” between the Saitama Seibu Lions and the The Giants will be held at Belluna Dome.

[Series Record] Saitama Seibu Lions (1st in the Pacific League) vs. The Giants (1st in the Central League) 1 win, 0 losses

[advance notice
Saitama Seibu Lions: Chihiro Sumida pitcher 5 wins, 2 losses in 9 games, ERA 2.42
The Giants: Whitley pitcher 1-3 in 8 games, ERA 3.20

With six straight wins, the Saitama Seibu Lions have climbed to the top of the Interleague standings. All eyes are on how long they can extend their winning streak as they aim for the team’s first-ever Interleague title.

The starters are. Chihiro Sumida pitcher. In this season’s interleague play, he has recorded shutout game win against the Yokohama DeNA BayStars, and in his previous start against Chunichi, he pitched well, allowing 2 runs over 8 innings, making this his second consecutive win. This will be his first matchup against The Giants since his rookie year in 2022; in that game, he suffered a loss after allowing 3 runs through 5 innings. He’ll be looking to show how much he’s grown as the team’s left-handed ace.

Meanwhile, the batting lineup... Takayoshi Yamamura The player was promoted to the first team on the 12th. He had maintained a strong batting average of .305 over 24 games in the farm system. In last season’s game against the The Giants on June 22, he batted fifth starting line-up and recorded 3 hit. He hopes to make his mark on a team with a strong lineup.

Text by Kainagi Niwa