Preview: Fighters at Lions

TOKOROZAWA, Japan (Interstat) — The Pacific League-leading Saitama Seibu Lions host the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters on Friday night at Seibu Dome, opening a three-game series between division rivals separated by two games in the standings.

Seibu enters the matchup at 43-27-1, holding a slim lead over the second-place Fighters (40-32). The Lions have won the season series so far, taking five of eight meetings, including a 6-3 victory on May 17 in their most recent head-to-head.

The pitching matchup features two aces in top form.

Nippon-Ham right-hander Takayuki Katoh (7 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 K in his last start) earned a win Wednesday against Chiba Lotte. The 28-year-old has allowed two earned runs or fewer in three of his past four outings, though he lasted only two innings in a June 3 loss at Hiroshima.

Seibu counters with Natsuki Takeuchi, who suffered a tough-luck loss Thursday at Rakuten despite throwing eight innings and allowing two earned runs with five strikeouts. The right-hander is coming off a dominant June 16 start at Hanshin, where he tossed six scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts in a 1-0 win.

The Lions took two of three from the Fighters in their last series in May, but Nippon-Ham has shown resilience. The Fighters won seven of their past 10 games, including a 7-4 victory Wednesday behind Katoh and third baseman Yuki Nomura, who homered twice. Seibu has dropped three straight, including a sweep at Rakuten.

Friday’s opener begins a key stretch for both clubs. After this series, Seibu travels to Fukuoka for three games against the SoftBank Hawks, while Nippon-Ham returns home to face Orix.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a 6-5 win for the Fighters, with their ELO system giving Nippon-Ham a 53% probability of victory. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. local time.