On August 25th at 18:00, the 18th round match between Chiba Lotte Marines and Fukuoka Softbank will be held on Zozo Marine Stadium.

[Head-to-head Record] Chiba Lotte Marines (5th place) vs Fukuoka Softbank (1st place) 5 wins, 11 losses, 1 draw

[Announced Starting Lineup]
Chiba Lotte Marines: Yuto Yoshikawa pitcher 1 game, 0 wins, 1 loss, ERA 5.40
Fukuoka Softbank: Moinelo pitcher 2 wins, 0 losses in 2 matches, ERA 0.75

Chiba Lotte Marines Kyota Fujiwara posted three hit on the 23rd, including a leadoff hitter. This season, Fukuoka Softbank has marked two leadoff hitter homers. This time, they want to provide support from the early innings. The starting pitcher is Yuto Yoshikawa pitcher. In his first appearance of the season on the 18th, he pitched 5 innings, 6 hit, and 3 runs, earning lose pitcher. Can he pitch well against a strong lineup?

On the other hand, Fukuoka Softbank started Moinelo pitcher. Although they started the season late, they have shown impressive pitching so far, winning two games so far, hit 1 runs 1 in 1 inning 2 games, and 6 1. The team aiming for a third consecutive championship currently has a magic score of 24, but second-place Saitama Seibu Lions is only 5.5 games behind. To pull away, they want to steadily accumulate win.

Text by Minagi Niwa