NAGOYA, Japan (Interstat) — The Hiroshima Carp visit the Chunichi Dragons on Sunday evening at Nagoya Dome, with both teams seeking to gain ground in the Central League standings.

Hiroshima (30-43-4) enters on a two-game skid, both losses coming at Chunichi by a combined 18-2 margin. The Carp have dropped six of their past nine overall and sit near the bottom of the league.

Chunichi (32-48-3) has won two straight and three of its last four after beating Hiroshima 8-1 on Saturday and 10-1 on Friday. The Dragons are 5-4 against the Carp this season, including a 4-1 mark at home.

Players to watch

Hiroshima reliever Sotaro Shimauchi has been effective in recent outings despite the team’s struggles. Over his past five appearances, the right-hander has allowed one hit and no earned runs in five innings, striking out six. He tossed a scoreless inning in Saturday’s loss and has not yielded an earned run in any of his last six games.

Chunichi third baseman Takaya Ishikawa is on a tear. In Saturday’s win, he went 2-for-3 with a home run and five RBIs. The previous night, he was 3-for-5 with two RBIs. Over his last three games, Ishikawa is 5-for-9 with a homer and seven RBIs.

Recent head-to-head

The Dragons have dominated the current three-game series, outscoring Hiroshima 18-2. Saturday’s win featured a strong start from Hideaki Wakui (six innings, one earned run) and a two-hit, two-RBI night from Jason Vosler. Hiroshima’s Ryosuke Kikuchi went 2-for-4 in the loss.

In May, the teams split a three-game set at Nagoya Dome, with Hiroshima winning the first two before Chunichi took the finale.

Projection

Interstat’s game simulator projects a 5-4 victory for Hiroshima, while the ELO system gives Chunichi a 54.3 percent probability of winning.

Up next

Hiroshima returns home Tuesday to begin a three-game series against Yokohama. Chunichi hosts Hanshin in a three-game set starting Tuesday.