SAPPORO (Interstat) — The Saitama Seibu Lions will visit the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026, at Sapporo Dome in Sapporo, Japan. Seibu enters 73-55-4. Nippon Ham is 72-57-3. The Pacific League game comes late in the season with both clubs in contention.

Seibu will look to Kaima Taira. On Sept. 15 at Rakuten, he allowed one earned run on three hits over seven innings with 10 strikeouts in a loss. On Sept. 8 at Orix, he pitched eight scoreless innings, yielding three hits and two walks with seven strikeouts in a win. On Sept. 1 at Lotte, he gave up one earned run on six hits in seven innings with eight strikeouts in a loss. Taira has worked deep into games and missed bats consistently.

Nippon Ham will count on Mizuki Hori out of the bullpen. On Sept. 15 against Lotte, he struck out three in a scoreless inning. On Sept. 12 at Seibu, he allowed two hits in a scoreless inning with one strikeout. On Sept. 10 at SoftBank, he struck out two in a scoreless inning. He also had scoreless appearances Sept. 6 and Sept. 5 at Rakuten, Sept. 1 against SoftBank, and Aug. 28-30 against Lotte. Hori has not allowed an earned run in his recent outings.

The teams have met frequently. Nippon Ham won 7-1 at Seibu on Sept. 13, and they tied 3-3 in 12 innings Sept. 12 at Seibu. Nippon Ham won 9-1 at Seibu on Aug. 26, and Seibu won 3-1 on Aug. 25. Seibu won two of three at Nippon Ham from Aug. 11-13, including a 5-2 victory Aug. 12 and a 1-0 win Aug. 11. Nippon Ham won 11-2 at Seibu on July 23, and Seibu won 12-1 at Nippon Ham on July 12.

Seibu’s most recent game was a 1-0 loss at Rakuten on Sept. 15. Taira pitched seven innings with one earned run and 10 strikeouts. Nippon Ham lost 7-6 to Lotte on Sept. 15. Hori struck out three in a scoreless inning, and Koki Kitayama allowed four earned runs on five hits with four walks and three strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings. Seibu will visit Lotte for three games starting Sept. 19, and Nippon Ham will host Orix for three games starting Sept. 19.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a final score of Saitama Seibu Lions 1, Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters 0. Interstat’s ELO system gives Nippon Ham a 58.8 percent probability to win. Nippon Ham has been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The over/under for the game is 7.5.