YOKOHAMA, Japan (March 28, 2026) (Interstat) — The Yokohama BayStars will look to even their season series against the Tokyo Yakult Swallows on Saturday evening at Yokohama Stadium, one night after dropping a narrow 3-2 decision in the opener for both Central League clubs.

First pitch is scheduled for the evening under forecasted rainy conditions and a temperature of 58 degrees.

The Swallows (1-0) will aim for a second straight road win behind a player to watch in pitcher Kojiro Yoshimura. Yoshimura earned the victory in Friday’s contest, throwing 5 1/3 innings while allowing two earned runs on five hits and striking out seven.

Yokohama (0-1) counters with left-hander Katsuki Azuma, who took the hard-luck loss Friday despite a quality start. Azuma pitched six innings, yielding three earned runs on four hits while fanning seven Swallows batters.

In Friday’s matchup, Yakult’s Ryui Itoh provided the key hit with a two-run home run, while Yokohama’s Shugo Maki homered in a losing effort.

Despite the opening result, statistical models favor the BayStars to rebound. Interstat’s game simulator projects a 5-4 Yokohama victory, and its ELO rating system gives the BayStars a 60.10 percent probability to win. However, Yakult has been installed as a pregame betting favorite with a spread of -1.5. The over/under for total runs is set at 7.0.

Following Saturday’s game, the two teams will conclude their three-game series on Sunday at Yokohama Stadium before each embarks on a lengthy stretch of intra-division play.