On August 14th at 18:00, the 18th round match between Fukuoka Softbank and Tohoku Rakuten Eagles will be held on MIZUHO PayPay Dome.

[Head-to-head Record] Fukuoka Softbank (1st) vs. Tohoku Rakuten Eagles (6th) 10 wins, 7 losses

[Announced Starting Lineup]
Fukuoka Softbank: Ryosuke Otsu pitcher 16 games, 9 wins, 2 losses, ERA 2.56
Tohoku Rakuten Eagles: Masaru Fujii pitcher 8 games, 1 win, 3 losses, ERA 3.69

Fukuoka Softbank 's starting pitcher is Ryosuke Otsu pitcher. So far, he has pitched in four games against Tohoku Rakuten Eagles, with a 2-0 record and a ERA of 1.93, all achieving QS and performing well. He wants to demonstrate his strong compatibility in this game as well. In terms of batting lineup, Ryoya Kurihara has Home Run 5 in the Tohoku Rakuten Eagles game. So far, he has set a new career high with 32 Home Run.

On the other hand, Tohoku Rakuten Eagles saw Masaru Fujii pitcher start for the first time since June 28. In his most recent farm game (August 7, Hokkaido Nippon-Ham), he pitched 6 innings, 4 hit, 1 runs (earned runs 0). This was his second time this season against Fukuoka Softbank, the last time since May 17. In that game, he achieved QS with 5 hit 2 runs over 6 innings, but suffered a loss due to lack of support. Will he be able to pitch a stable first team appearance after a month and a half?

Text by Harukazu Sonoda