SENDAI, Japan (Interstat) — The first-place Orix Buffaloes visit the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles on Thursday evening at Kleenex Stadium Miyagi.

The forecast calls for rain and a game-time temperature of 65 degrees.

Orix (23-14) enters the series opener riding the momentum of a 2-0 shutout victory over the Golden Eagles on Tuesday. Right-hander Allen Kuri, who earned the win in that game, is a player to watch for the Buffaloes. In that start, he pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing six hits and striking out seven. Over his past four starts, Kuri is 2-2 with a 2.02 ERA and 28 strikeouts across 26 2/3 innings.

Rakuten (15-21) is in last place in the Pacific League. The Golden Eagles have lost three consecutive games, including a 6-1 defeat at Seibu on Sunday. Right-hander Kosei Shoji will be a key figure for Rakuten. He took the loss in the May 12 game against Orix, allowing two earned runs on three hits over six innings with nine strikeouts. Over his past four starts, Shoji is 1-3 with a 3.46 ERA and 32 strikeouts across 26 innings.

The most recent head-to-head between these clubs occurred Tuesday, when Orix blanked Rakuten 2-0. In that game, Kuri was the standout for Orix, and Shoji took the loss. The teams have split their season series, with Orix winning three of the first six meetings.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a 5-2 win for Orix, and the ELO system gives the Buffaloes a 54.9% probability of victory.

Following Thursday’s game, Orix travels to Chiba to face the Lotte Marines for a three-game series starting Friday. Rakuten returns home to host the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks for three games beginning Friday.