August 20th 18:00 NPB Chiba Lotte Nippon Ham Korea-Japan Baseball Analysis Sports Analysis

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The Chiba Lotte Marines, struggling with their batting lineup, aim to take the initiative with Kazuya Ojima (8 wins, 8 losses, 4.02 ERA) on the mound. Ojima secured a victory on the 13th against Nippon Ham with an impressive 8 innings of 3 hits and no runs. He has maintained a stable advantage against Nippon Ham this year. In the previous home match, he suffered a complete game loss with 2 earned runs, but his confidence against Nippon Ham remains strong. The Chiba Lotte batting lineup was stifled by Haru Matsumoto's pitching on Sunday, managing only one run in the 9th inning thanks to a pitching miscue by Yuki Matsumoto. Whether they can overcome their struggles at home after a poor performance on the road will be critical. The fact that they could only score 1 run with the bases loaded in the 9th inning while trailing by 2 runs is concerning. Fortunately, thanks to Taneichi’s 7-inning outing, the bullpen usage was minimized to just one player.

Nippon Ham Fighters, whose poor performance led to a sweep in the series, will have Shoma Kanemura (5 wins, 5 losses, 2.26 ERA) take the mound to prevent further losing streaks. Kanemura lost on the 13th to Chiba Lotte at home after allowing 4 earned runs in 6 innings, which is disappointing as he seemed to have lost his good form at home. His previous outings against Chiba Lotte have not been favorable, and although he threw 5 innings with only 1 earned run in an earlier away game, this may be best forgotten. On Sunday, Nippon Ham's lineup was unable to capitalize on numerous opportunities against Shunpeita Yamashita, resulting in only 2 runs. Their struggles with scoring chances and lack of home runs have combined to extend their losing streak. They have recently won 3 consecutive games at Chojamarine, and they’ll need to bet on this for their current game as well. The bullpen showed resilience, managing a perfect 2.1 innings.

Both teams have been struggling with their batting recently, which could explain their failures in the weekend series. In essence, which team can revive their offense first will likely determine the outcome of this game. However, it is true that Ojima has considerable confidence against Nippon Ham lately, and Kanemura has been shaky in his recent appearances against Chiba Lotte. Moreover, Nippon Ham’s bullpen has not been as powerful as it used to be. With the home advantage, the Chiba Lotte Marines appear closer to victory.

Expected score: 3-2, Chiba Lotte wins

Win-Loss: 1-1

Handicap: Chiba Lotte wins

Over/Under: Under