TOKOROZAWA, Japan (Interstat) — The Saitama Seibu Lions look to regain their footing in the Pacific League standings when they host the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters on Sunday evening at Seibu Dome.

Seibu (44-28-1) holds a three-game lead over Nippon-Ham (41-33) in the standings, but the Fighters took the series opener 4-2 on Saturday. The Lions have dropped two of their last three games overall.

The pitching matchup features two of the league’s more consistent arms. Right-hander Sachiya Yamasaki, who earned the win Saturday with six innings of one-run ball, is expected to start for Nippon-Ham. In his last three outings, Yamasaki has allowed just one earned run over 17 2/3 innings while striking out four. He defeated Seibu on June 27 and beat Yakult on June 6 in a 2-0 complete-game effort.

Seibu counters with right-hander Chihiro Sumida, who took the loss Saturday despite a strong performance: 8 2/3 innings, nine hits, four earned runs and 11 strikeouts. Sumida has been durable and effective in June, tossing at least eight innings in each of his last four starts. He threw a complete-game shutout against Orix on June 20, allowing three hits with eight strikeouts. Sumida’s only loss in his last five starts came against Nippon-Ham.

The head-to-head series has been tightly contested. The teams have split the last six meetings dating to April 28, with Seibu winning three and Nippon-Ham winning three — though one of those Fighters wins went 11 innings on April 30. Seibu won the season series 4-2 in the first six games, but the Fighters have taken two of the last three.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a 5-4 Nippon-Ham victory, and its ELO system gives the Fighters a 53 percent chance to win.

The Lions will turn to Alexander Canario for offense after he homered and drove in a run Saturday. Taishi Mameda also contributed in relief for Seibu.

After Sunday’s series finale, both teams head to the road. Nippon-Ham hosts Orix for three games beginning Tuesday, then travels to Tohoku Rakuten for three. Seibu visits Fukuoka SoftBank for three games starting Tuesday, then travels to Orix for three. The teams meet again July 10-11 in Hokkaido.