Chiba Lotte Marines vs Fukuoka S. Hawks

First pitch at 18:20 JST (09:00 UTC). The game is in the early innings at ZOZO Marine Stadium (capacity ~30,000) with umpires Fukaya (HP), Tsugawa (1B), Iwashita (2B), and Noda (3B).

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks

1. Tomoya Masaki (RF)
2. Ukyo Shuto (CF)
3. Kensuke Kondo (LF)
4. Ryoya Kurihara (3B)
5. Yuki Yanagita (DH)
6. Yuta Yamamoto (C)
7. Taisei Makihara (2B)
8. Ryuta Hirose (1B)
9. Yuta Shoji (SS) SP: Taiga Kamigatani (RHP)

Chiba Lotte Marines

1. Kyota Fujihara (CF)
2. Shisho Nishikawa (RF)
3. Koki Yamaguchi (LF)
4. Toshiya Sato (1B)
5. Neftali Soto (DH)
6. Ryusei Ogawa (2B)
7. Naoki Yasuda (3B)
8. Torao Matsukawa (C)
9. Kenta Chaya (SS) SP: Kaito Mori (LHP)

Kamigatani (RHP) enters with a 2.55 ERA in 2026, making him one of the NPB's most consistent arms. Mori (LHP) carries a 4.82 ERA into his start. The lefty-righty matchup sees five left-handed bats in Lotte's top seven against Kamigatani's right-handed arsenal.

Kurihara vs Mori. Ryoya Kurihara is a career standout against Mori, reported at 3-for-4 with two home runs in their prior meetings. Kurihara bats cleanup for SoftBank and will be the first major test for Mori early in the game.

On the other side, Koki Yamaguchi — hero of Wednesday's 6-5 walk-off win with his 24th home run of the season — faces Kamigatani, who has allowed just 2.55 earned runs per nine innings.

SoftBank lead the season series 12-6-1 and have outscored the Marines 99-65 across the first 19 meetings. A win tonight extends their Pacific League lead. For the Marines, back-to-back wins after Wednesday's dramatic victory would provide a significant momentum boost as the season enters its final stretch.

Kamigatani's consistency (2.55 ERA, elite command) makes the Hawks clear favourites on the mound. However, Lotte's offence showed resilience in Wednesday's comeback. The under has appeal given Kamigatani's form and the venue's reputation at ZOZO Marine, though the season series average of 8.6 runs per game suggests caution.

Kamigatani's steady right arm against a Lotte lineup fuelled by Yamaguchi's hot bat and Wednesday's walk-off energy. If Kamigatani controls the early innings and Kurihara delivers against Mori, SoftBank should control the game's tempo. The Marines need early runs to force SoftBank's bullpen into action before it can settle.