Seibu Lions pitcher Kona Takahashi (29) will lead the charge to defeat the Softbank Hawks.

He is a strong candidate to start the first game of the three-game head-to-head series against the league-leading Softbank Hawks, whom they trail by five games, starting on the 4th. On this day, he made adjustments by performing bullpen pitches at the indoor practice facility where the team practice was held.

Natsuki Takeuchi pitcher (25), the youngest in the team's starting rotation, demonstrated his clutch strength by pulling in a win with a strong performance in the August 30th game against the Rakuten Eagles (Belluna Dome) for Takumi Kuriyama outfielder's retirement match, following the June 16th game against the Hanshin Tigers (Koshien) where the club clinched its first Interleague championship.

Takahashi Kona's respect for the left-hander is unstoppable, saying, 'I put a lot of pressure on him. I jokingly told him, "It'll be bad if we lose today, we can't afford to lose," and he responded well. He's amazing.' Takahashi is expected to lead the way in a three-game series that they cannot afford to lose in order to advance to the CS and win their first championship since 2019. He said, 'It's a very important game, and since Takeuchi has pitched well both times, I want to follow his lead and ask him various things. I'm really fired up.' His compatibility this season is guaranteed, having won four consecutive games against the Softbank Hawks in April and May. He wants to show the pride of the oldest member of the starting rotation and close the gap all at once.