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TOKOROZAWA, Japan (Interstat) — The Saitama Seibu Lions host the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters on Thursday night at Seibu Dome, with the two Pacific League rivals set to conclude a brief two-game series that opened Wednesday.

First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.

The Lions (13-14-1) enter the matchup having won the series opener 3-0 on Wednesday, powered by a dominant pitching performance. Seibu will look to build on that momentum and improve its record above .500 for the first time this season.

Nippon-Ham (12-16) aims to bounce back after the shutout loss and split the series. The Fighters have dropped six of their last seven games overall, including a three-game sweep at Orix last weekend.

The pitching matchup features two right-handers who opposed each other Wednesday. Nippon-Ham is expected to start Kota Tatsu, who took the loss in the series opener despite a solid outing: seven innings, five hits, two earned runs and six strikeouts. Tatsu has been a bright spot for the Fighters, posting a 3-1 record over his last four starts with a 1.95 ERA across 27 2/3 innings, striking out 28 batters.

Seibu counters with Kona Takahashi, who earned the win Wednesday by tossing seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and striking out four. Takahashi has been stellar recently, winning three of his last four decisions while compiling a 0.87 ERA over 31 innings, with 28 strikeouts and only one walk allowed in that span.

The season series has been highly competitive. In the last five meetings, each team has won twice, with Seibu’s 15-3 blowout on April 19 as the outlier. The Lions have taken two of three at home against the Fighters this season.

Seibu’s offense has been inconsistent but showed life in the series opener. The Lions will face a Nippon-Ham bullpen that has been taxed by recent extra-inning games and long starts.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a 6-3 victory for Seibu, while the ELO system gives Nippon-Ham a 57.4 percent probability to win.

After Thursday’s game, both teams begin new series Friday. Nippon-Ham returns home to host Orix, while Seibu travels to face Chiba Lotte.