The 13th game between the Saitama Seibu Lions and the Tohoku Rakuten Rakuten Eagles will be held at Okinawa Cellular Stadium Naha on July 8th at 6:30 PM.

[Head-to-head record] Saitama Seibu Lions (2nd place) vs. Tohoku Rakuten Eagles (6th place): 6 wins, 5 losses, 1 draw

[Announced Starting Pitcher]
Saitama Seibu Lions: Yutaro Watanabe pitcher 12 games, 4 wins, 4 losses, 3.18 ERA
Tohoku Rakuten Eagles: Takayuki Kishi pitcher, 2 wins and 2 losses in 4 games, ERA 2.63

The starting pitcher for the Saitama Seibu Lions is Yutaro Watanabe. In his last start (June 28th against Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters), he was lose pitcher, but he still managed to throw 88 pitches over 6 innings, allowing 6 Walk hit strike out 3, and giving up 3 runs. Watanabe has achieved a pitcher start in 6 consecutive games, and he will be hoping to contribute to another win with a strong performance in this game.

Tohoku Rakuten Eagles will have pitcher Takayuki Kishi on the mound after a 10-day rest. In his previous start (June 27 against Orix Buffaloes), he pitched brilliantly, closer the opponent to just one hit through five innings, and earned his second consecutive win with seven innings runs and only one run allowed. Kishii is the oldest pitcher on the team, but following in the footsteps of fellow veteran Kenta Maeda 's strong pitcher, he will be looking to stop the losing streak with a well-placed pitch.

Written by Aoi Nemoto