YOKOHAMA, Japan (Interstat) — The Yomiuri Giants visit the Yokohama BayStars on Friday evening at Yokohama Stadium, with first pitch scheduled under cloudy skies and 82-degree temperatures. Yomiuri (40-35-2) brings a five-game road winning streak against its Central League rival, while Yokohama (32-43-3) seeks to reverse a season-long struggle at home.

The Giants have dominated the season series, winning seven of the past nine meetings, including a 2-1 victory Sunday in the most recent matchup. Yomiuri has not lost to Yokohama since April 24, when the BayStars prevailed 2-1 in 11 innings. Overall, Yomiuri holds a 7-2 edge in 2026, with two scoreless ties on June 27 and June 26.

Both teams enter Friday after disappointing results. Yomiuri fell 10-2 to Hanshin on Thursday, losing its second straight series after winning five of its previous seven games. The Giants’ bullpen performed well, with Ryusei Yamada, Kenshin Hotta and Ren Tawa each throwing scoreless innings in relief.

Yamada, a right-handed reliever, has been sharp recently. Over his past three appearances — all against Hanshin — he yielded one hit and no runs in 3 innings, striking out one. He will be a key option out of the bullpen for Yomiuri.

Yokohama dropped a 4-3 decision to Chunichi on Thursday, its third loss in four games. Right-hander Kentaro Taira started and took the loss, allowing two earned runs on six hits over 5 2/3 innings with six strikeouts. Over his past three starts, Taira has a 2.46 ERA (four earned runs in 14 2/3 innings) but has received little run support, losing all three outings. He is scheduled to start Friday and will need to contain a Giants lineup that has scored 17 runs in its past five meetings with the BayStars.

Second baseman Shugo Maki provided the offense Thursday for Yokohama, going 2-for-4 with a home run and an RBI. He has been one of the team’s few consistent run producers during its recent slide.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a 5-4 victory for Yokohama, giving the BayStars a 51.3 percent probability to win via its ELO system. The model suggests a tightly contested game, but Yokohama must overcome a Yomiuri team that has outscored it 19-8 in the season series.

The Giants continue their road trip Saturday and Sunday at Yokohama before traveling to Tokyo Yakult next week. The BayStars face the same weekend series with Yomiuri, then visit Hiroshima starting Tuesday.