AP Style Baseball Preview: Hawks Host Eagles

FUKUOKA, Japan (Interstat) — The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks host the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles on Sunday evening at Fukuoka Yahuoku! Dome, looking to extend their recent mastery over their Pacific League rivals.

SoftBank (16-13-1) enters the game having won three straight against Rakuten, including a 5-0 victory Saturday. The Hawks have outscored the Eagles 15-1 in those three wins. Rakuten (12-16-1) has lost four of its last five games.

Right-hander Ryosuke Ohtsu has been dominant for SoftBank. In his last four starts, all wins, Ohtsu has pitched seven innings in each, allowing one earned run total while striking out 31 batters. He threw seven shutout innings against Rakuten on Saturday, allowing eight hits with seven strikeouts. Ohtsu also blanked the Eagles over seven innings on April 16, striking out 11.

Rakuten will counter with right-hander Taisei Tsurusaki, who has been effective in relief. Tsurusaki worked two scoreless innings Saturday against SoftBank, allowing one hit with two strikeouts. Over his last four appearances, Tsurusaki has allowed one earned run in six innings with seven strikeouts.

The Eagles have struggled against the Hawks this season, losing five of eight meetings. Rakuten’s only two wins against SoftBank came by 3-2 scores on April 14 and 15.

SoftBank’s Ryoya Kurihara delivered the big hit Saturday, going 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs. Closer Roberto Osuna worked a perfect ninth inning.

Rakuten’s offense has been quiet, scoring one run or fewer in four of its last five games. The Eagles managed just four hits Saturday against Ohtsu and the SoftBank bullpen.

The Interstat game simulator projects a 3-2 SoftBank victory, with the Hawks holding a 67.9 percent win probability according to the ELO system.

SoftBank is 9-4 at home this season. The Hawks begin a three-game series at Seibu on Monday before returning home to host Lotte.

Rakuten travels to face Nippon Ham on Monday for a three-game set, then visits Seibu before a six-game homestand that includes a rematch with the Hawks from May 15-16.

First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. local time.