The 18th game between Hokkaido Nippon-Ham and Tohoku Rakuten Eagles will be held at ES CON FIELD starting at 3 PM on August 8th.

[Head-to-head record] Hokkaido Nippon-Ham (2nd place) vs. Tohoku Rakuten Eagles (6th place): 11 wins, 6 losses

[Announced Starting Pitcher]
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham: Takayuki Kato pitcher 16 games, 10 wins (tied for 1st), 1 loss, ERA 2.70
Tohoku Rakuten Eagles: Takahisa Hayakawa pitcher 14 games, 4 wins, 5 losses, 3.03 ERA

The starting pitcher for Hokkaido Nippon-Ham is Takayuki Kato. In his last start (on the 1st against Chiba Lotte Marines), he had a disappointing result, giving up 5 hit, 3 Walk, and 3 runs on 106 pitches over 5.1 innings before being pulled from the game midway through inning. He will be hoping to secure his league-leading 11th win with a good performance. In the batting lineup, Kengo Yoshida, who was promoted before the game the previous day, has been performing well with 3 hits in 3 At Bat hit.

Tohoku Rakuten Eagles will start pitcher Takahisa Hayakawa. In his previous start (on the 1st against Fukuoka Softbank), he was defeated after 6 innings, 97 pitches, 7 hit, no walks Hit by Pitch, and 3 runs. He is currently on a two-game losing streak, but will he be able to secure his first win in a month since July 3rd? In the batting lineup, keep an eye on Fumiya Kurokawa who hit Home Run in four months the previous day.

Text by Rian Ueno