On July 18th at 6 PM, the 14th game between Tohoku Rakuten Eagles and Saitama Seibu Lions will be held at Rakuten Eagles Mobile Saikyo Park Miyagi.

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

[Announced Starting Pitcher]
Tohoku Rakuten Eagles: Kosei Shoji pitcher 14 games, 4 wins, 8 losses, ERA 4.39
Saitama Seibu Lions: Natsuki Takeuchi pitcher 13 games, 6 wins, 4 losses, ERA 2.64

Tohoku Rakuten Eagles won their previous series Orix Buffaloes in three straight games. In the game on the 16th, their bases loaded Hideto Asamura, who has been struggling at the plate since May, hit a grand slam. Will this be the turning point for him to recover? Starting pitcher Kosei Shoji is aiming for win since May 5th. In his last three games, he has given up 4 runs in 5 innings each time. He will want to pitch long inning and get the game under control.

On the opposing side, Saitama Seibu Lions will start pitcher Natsuki Takeuchi. In his previous start against Hokkaido Nippon-Ham he pitched brilliantly, allowing only one runs in seven innings to earn his sixth win. In his last matchup against Tohoku Rakuten Eagles on June 25th, he pitched complete game, allowing only two runs in eight innings, although he did take the loss. Meanwhile, the batting lineup is in good form, with Natsuo Takizawa hit of eight consecutive games. His batting average is now above .300, placing him second in the league.

Written by Kai Nagi Niwa