SAPPORO, Japan (Interstat) — The Pacific League’s top two teams meet again Saturday evening at Sapporo Dome as the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters host the Saitama Seibu Lions in a series that could tighten the division race.

Nippon-Ham (47-37-2) enters with a half-game lead over Seibu (46-34-3). The Fighters took the season series lead 5-4 with a 5-1 win June 28, but the Lions answered with a 2-1 victory Friday in the opener of this three-game set.

The pitching rematch features the same starters from that one-run contest.

Seibu left-hander Natsuki Takeuchi is expected to start. Takeuchi earned the win Friday, allowing one earned run on four hits over seven innings with eight strikeouts. He has been a steady force, posting a 1.67 ERA over his last four starts with 30 strikeouts in 27 innings, including a 10-strikeout shutout June 16 against Hanshin.

Hiromi Itoh takes the mound for Nippon-Ham. The right-hander took the loss Friday despite a strong outing — one earned run on five hits over seven innings with seven strikeouts. Itoh has had mixed results of late, allowing 11 hits and six earned runs in a July 3 loss at Rakuten, but he limited SoftBank to two earned runs over six innings in a win June 19.

Friday’s game was decided by a solo home run from Seibu’s Masayuki Kuwahara, who was 1-for-3 with the decisive RBI. The Lions’ bullpen held firm as Hiroshi Kaino worked a scoreless eighth inning.

The Fighters will look to reestablish their home-field advantage. Nippon-Ham is 6-4 in its last 10 games, while Seibu is 4-6 over the same stretch after dropping three of four at SoftBank earlier this week.

The season series has been tightly contested. Five of the nine meetings have been decided by one run, and only three games have seen a team win by more than two runs.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a 6-2 Nippon-Ham victory, and its ELO system gives the Fighters a 60.4 percent win probability.

First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. local time. Both teams will play again Sunday in the series finale before heading into the All-Star break.