TOKYO (Interstat) — The Yomiuri Giants visit the Tokyo Yakult Swallows on Tuesday evening at Meiji Jingu Stadium, with first pitch scheduled for 75 degrees and clear skies.

Yakult (26-16) leads the Central League, while Yomiuri (23-18) sits three games back. The Swallows have won five of the last seven meetings between the clubs, including a 5-0 shutout on May 6 in Tokyo. However, the Giants took the middle game of that three-game set, 3-2, on May 5.

Both teams are coming off shutout victories Sunday. Yomiuri beat Yokohama 1-0 behind six scoreless innings from right-hander Kazuyuki Takemaru, who scattered five hits and struck out four. Takemaru, a two-way player who also serves as an outfielder, has been effective on the mound this season but struggled in his last start against Yakult, allowing five earned runs over 6 2/3 innings in a 5-0 loss on May 6. He went 0-for-2 at the plate in that game and is hitless in his last 10 at-bats overall.

Yakult counters with right-hander Kengo Matsumoto, who threw seven innings of one-run ball Sunday in a 5-1 win at Chunichi, yielding four hits with two strikeouts. Matsumoto has been dominant of late, tossing eight shutout innings at Hiroshima on May 9 in a 4-0 victory. He faced Yomiuri twice last month, allowing three runs over six innings in an April 18 start and earning a win April 17 with six innings of two-run ball.

The Swallows’ offense has been inconsistent, scoring eight runs against Chunichi on Friday but getting shut out Saturday. Yomiuri’s bullpen has been sharp, with Raidel Martinez and Eito Tanaka combining for two scoreless innings Sunday.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a 6-5 Yomiuri win, but the ELO system gives Yakult a 51.0 percent chance. Yomiuri is a +1.5 underdog, and the over/under is 7.0.

The teams meet again Thursday in Tokyo. Yomiuri then hosts Hanshin for three games starting Friday, while Yakult visits Yokohama on Saturday.