On August 9th at 14:00, the 19th round match between Hokkaido Nippon-Ham and Tohoku Rakuten Eagles will be held on ES CON FIELD.

[Head-to-head Record] Hokkaido Nippon-Ham (3rd place) vs. Tohoku Rakuten Eagles (6th place) 11 wins, 7 losses

[Announced Starting Lineup]
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham: Kohei Arihara pitcher 9 games, 3 wins, 6 losses, ERA 4.88
Tohoku Rakuten Eagles: Tatsuki Koja pitcher 13 games, 1 win, 7 losses, ERA 4.07

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham started Kohei Arihara pitcher. In his previous appearance against Chiba Lotte Marines, he threw 100 pitches over 9 innings, pitching 3 hit 9 strike out, marking his first shutout game win since returning to his former team. This will be their first encounter with Tohoku Rakuten Eagles this season, but will they win again this time, maintaining their good form? The batting lineup struggled, with Chusei Mannami players retired in four at-bats the previous day and errors leading to runs in the final stages. We look forward to their strong performance.

Tohoku Rakuten Eagles started Tatsuki Koja pitcher. He faced Hokkaido Nippon-Ham in two games in April; although he didn't win, he pitched well in both, recording one runs complete game on the 8th. This season, he has had many games where the lineup's support didn't mesh well, with only one win on May 16. He wants to end his losing streak and reclaim a win for the first time in about three months.

Text by Minagi Niwa