The 21st game between the Saitama Seibu Lions and Hokkaido Nippon-Ham will be held at Belluna Dome on August 25th at 6 PM.

[Head-to-head record] Saitama Seibu Lions (2nd place) vs. Hokkaido Nippon-Ham (3rd place): 11 wins, 9 losses

[Announced Starting Pitcher]
Saitama Seibu Lions: Kaima Taira pitcher 18 games, 9 wins, 3 losses, 1.55 ERA
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham: pitcher Hiromi Ito 21 games, 8 wins, 8 losses, 3.20 ERA

Saitama Seibu Lions 's starting pitcher will be Kaima Taira who is aiming for his 10th win. This season, he has pitched 110 innings, and although he is just short of the required innings pitched, he has a top-level ERA of 1.55. Against Hokkaido Nippon-Ham, he has a 3-4 record, including a brilliant performance in their last game on the 11th where he pitched 7 innings, allowing only 2 hit and no runs. He will be looking to lead his team to a fourth consecutive win with another outstanding performance this time around.

Opposing him is pitcher Hiromi Ito, who has faced the Saitama Seibu Lions in six games this season and recorded a quality start in all of them. On the 11th, when he faced off against pitcher Taira, he pitched well, allowing only 3 hit 1 runs (0 earned runs) through 8 innings, engaging in pitcher duel. He has been facing top teams in recent games and has been without win since June 19th, but will he be able to secure win this time?

Written by Kai Nagi Niwa