The 22nd game between the Saitama Seibu Lions and the Tohoku Rakuten Rakuten Eagles will be held at Belluna Dome on August 30th at 5 PM.

[Head-to-head record] Saitama Seibu Lions (2nd place) vs. Tohoku Rakuten Eagles (6th place): 13 wins, 7 losses, 1 draw

[Announced Starting Pitcher]
Saitama Seibu Lions: Natsuki Takeuchi pitcher 18 games, 9 wins, 6 losses, ERA 2.88
Tohoku Rakuten Eagles: Takayuki Kishi pitcher 8 games, 4 wins, 3 losses, ERA 2.39

This game marks the final day of the "PR1DE SERIES," a project that walks alongside fans through Takumi Kuriyama 's final season, and is the retirement game for "Mr. Leo." Pay attention to the courageous performance of Kuriyama, who has supported the team for 25 years with The Lions.

The starting pitcher for the Saitama Seibu Lions will be Natsuki Takeuchi. He was scheduled to start on the 23rd but had to skip it due to back stiffness, and will now pitch after a 13-day rest. He is on the verge of achieving double-digit win for the first time in two years since his rookie year, and has been in good form in August, with a record of 2 wins and 1 loss and an ERA of 1.80 in 3 appearances. He will be hoping to get his 10th win in this game and add a special touch to Kuriyama's retirement game.

Tohoku Rakuten Eagles will be starting pitcher Takayuki Kishi. In his last start (on the 19th against Chiba Lotte Marines), despite having runner on base, he pitched 6 innings, throwing 98 pitches, allowing 7 hit 1 Walk, and giving up no runs, earning his 4th win of the season. This season, he has appeared in 2 games against Saitama Seibu Lions, with ERA of 3.75. In this game, he will be looking to give a good performance to former teammate Kuriyama in his retirement game.

Written by Aoi Nemoto