SENDAI, Japan (Interstat) — The undefeated Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks will look to extend their dominant start and complete a series sweep of the struggling Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles on Thursday evening at Kleenex Stadium Miyagi.

The first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. local time under foreboding skies, with a game-time temperature of 46 degrees Fahrenheit and rain in the forecast.

SoftBank (5-0) has rolled through its early schedule, including consecutive wins over Rakuten (1-4) to open this series. The Hawks won 6-1 on Wednesday behind a strong pitching performance from Jo-Hsi Hsu and home runs from Kensuke Kondoh and Yuki Yanagita. They also took Tuesday’s opener 4-2.

Hsu, who allowed three hits over six scoreless innings with six strikeouts in Wednesday’s victory, is a key player to watch for the visiting Hawks. Rakuten will hope for a stabilizing outing from reliever Ryu Kutani, who pitched two scoreless innings Wednesday but allowed a run in an inning of work on Tuesday.

The Golden Eagles’ only victory this season was a 10-0 rout of the Orix Buffaloes on March 27, a game in which Kutani also contributed a scoreless inning. Since then, they have dropped four straight.

According to Interstat, the Hawks are heavy favorites with a 65.5% probability to win. Their game simulator projects an 8-3 SoftBank victory. The Hawks are installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of +1.5, and the over/under for the contest is set at 6.0 runs.

Following the game, both teams will hit the road for weekend series. The Hawks travel to face the Chiba Lotte Marines for three games beginning Friday, while the Golden Eagles head to Saitama for a three-game set against the Seibu Lions. The clubs will meet again for a two-game series in Fukuoka starting April 14.