The 13th game between Hokkaido Nippon-Ham and the Saitama Seibu Lions will be held at ES CON FIELD on July 10th at 6 PM.

[Head-to-head record] Hokkaido Nippon-Ham (3rd place) vs. Saitama Seibu Lions (2nd place): 6 wins, 6 losses

[Announced Starting Pitcher]
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham: pitcher Hiromi Ito 15 games, 8 wins (tied for 2nd place), 4 losses, ERA 3.20
Saitama Seibu Lions: Natsuki Takeuchi pitcher 12 games, 5 wins, 4 losses, ERA 2.77

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham will start pitcher Hiromi Ito. In his last start (on the 3rd against Tohoku Rakuten Eagles), he faltered in the later innings, giving up 11 hits, no hit or hit batsmen, Hit by Pitch strike out 6, and allowing 6 runs in 8 innings, resulting in a loss. In this game, will Ito be able pitch with pitcher characteristic tenacity and earn his 9th win? In the batting lineup, Kengo Yoshida is in good form. In the previous game, he hit two Home Run in one game, and since being recalled to the first team in mid-June, he has been leading the offense with 19 hits At Bat 50 hit, 8 Home Run and 13 RBI in 16 games.

On the opposing side, Saitama Seibu Lions will start pitcher Natsuki Natsuki Takeuchi. This will be their first matchup against Hokkaido Nippon-Ham in about three months, so the question is whether he can fulfill his role as a starter. In the batting lineup, keep an eye on Natsuo Takizawa who had multiple hit in the previous game. So far in July, he has 7 hit in 22 At Bat bats over 6 games, for a monthly batting average of .318, showing he is in good form. Furthermore, his monthly batting average with runners in scoring position is an impressive .600. He will be looking to show his clutch hitting ability in this game as well and provide early support for pitcher Takeuchi.