This article is part of our Dream11 Fantasy NPB series.
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (27-22-2) at Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (25-24-2)
Wednesday, August 19th, 5:00 AM EDT
Projected Starters
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters: RHP Toshihiro Sugiura (4-1, 1.82 ERA)
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles: RHP Hideaki Wakui (7-0, 2.38 ERA)
Game Preview
The Fighters and the Golden Eagles are both looking to sneak their way into the race for a playoff spot in the Pacific League and things are quite tight, as only two wins separate these two teams. The momentum might favor the Fighters, however, as they have gone 2-3 in their last five, as opposed to Tohoku's 1-3-1 mark over that same five-game stretch. The pitching matchup in this game should be a thrilling one, as two pitchers with sub-2.50 ERAs will collide Wednesday – Toshihiro Sugiura will get the ball for the Fighters, and Hideaki Wahui will start for the Golden Eagles. The Golden Eagles are better offensively and that should boost Wakui's upside, but this is a game that could easily turn out to be a pitching matchup.
Injuries
Katsuhiko Kumon - Out - Upper Leg
7/31 1:37 AM IST - Kumon was deactivated Thursday and is expected to miss four weeks due a strained adductor muscle in his left leg, Jim Allen of JBallAllen.com reports. Kumon picked up the injury in his appearance in Wednesday's game against the Buffaloes, during which he blew a one-run lead. The lefty reliever owns a 4.97 ERA and 11:4 K:BB across 12.2 innings this season.
Yuki Nomura - Out - Finger
7/9
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (27-22-2) at Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (25-24-2)
Wednesday, August 19th, 5:00 AM EDT
Projected Starters
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters: RHP Toshihiro Sugiura (4-1, 1.82 ERA)
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles: RHP Hideaki Wakui (7-0, 2.38 ERA)
Game Preview
The Fighters and the Golden Eagles are both looking to sneak their way into the race for a playoff spot in the Pacific League and things are quite tight, as only two wins separate these two teams. The momentum might favor the Fighters, however, as they have gone 2-3 in their last five, as opposed to Tohoku's 1-3-1 mark over that same five-game stretch. The pitching matchup in this game should be a thrilling one, as two pitchers with sub-2.50 ERAs will collide Wednesday – Toshihiro Sugiura will get the ball for the Fighters, and Hideaki Wahui will start for the Golden Eagles. The Golden Eagles are better offensively and that should boost Wakui's upside, but this is a game that could easily turn out to be a pitching matchup.
Injuries
Katsuhiko Kumon - Out - Upper Leg
7/31 1:37 AM IST - Kumon was deactivated Thursday and is expected to miss four weeks due a strained adductor muscle in his left leg, Jim Allen of JBallAllen.com reports. Kumon picked up the injury in his appearance in Wednesday's game against the Buffaloes, during which he blew a one-run lead. The lefty reliever owns a 4.97 ERA and 11:4 K:BB across 12.2 innings this season.
Yuki Nomura - Out - Finger
7/9 4:21 AM IST - Nomura had successful surgery Wednesday to address the broken right pinkie finger he suffered in Tuesday's loss to the Buffaloes, Full-Count.jp reports. Nomura is expected to face a three-month recovery from the procedure, effectively taking him off the radar for the remainder of his rookie season. The 20-year-old had been a lineup regular at third base for the Fighters, going 10-for-46 (.217 average) with two home runs and eight RBI through his first 13 NPB games.
Eito Tanaka - Out - Elbow
7/10 6:41 AM IST - The Fighters announced Thursday that Tanaka underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow, Full-Count.jp reports. He's expected to be sidelined for two months before starting a throwing program. The 20-year-old made his NPB debut for Nippon-Ham in September of last season, giving up two runs in a two-inning appearance. Since he'll still need to complete more rehab work once he starts up his throwing program, Tanaka's absence could extend to the three-month mark or longer. The Fighters likely aren't counting on him to hold a major role once he's healthy again.
Hiroshi Urano - Out - Chest
6/30 8:47 PM IST - Urano required an appendectomy Tuesday and is expected to be sidelined for four weeks following surgery, Yahoo Japan reports. Urano will be hospitalized through Saturday before taking the next three weeks off to rest up and recover from the emergency procedure. The 30-year-old had yet to appear in a game for the Fighters this season after going 3-1 with seven holds and a 4.98 ERA over 25 appearances in 2019.
Christian Villanueva - Out - Foot
7/31 1:32 AM IST - The Fighters deactivated Villanueva on Thursday after he fouled a ball off his left foot in Wednesday's game against the Buffaloes, Jim Allen of JBallAllen.com reports. An already rough second season in NPB has gotten even worse for Villanueva, who slashing just .186/.288/.273 over 66 plate appearances before he sustained the injury. He'll likely be in store for a reserve role with the Fighters once he's activated, presumably in the next 1-to-2 weeks.
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters Expected Lineup
2. Taishi Ohta
4. Sho Nakata
5. Ryo Watanabe
8. Shingo Usami
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles Expected Lineup
1. Eigoro Mogi
3. Jabari Blash
8. Hikaru Ohta
Top Picks From Each Team
Stefen Romero, Golden Eagles: Romero is hitting .315 with a .386 on-base percentage, but he has also supplied power and run production – he leads the team in home runs with 15 while ranking second with 35 RBI. Romero and Hideto Asamura form a spectacular one-two punch in the Golden Eagles' offense.
Sho Nakata, Fighters: Nakata might only be hitting for .259, which basically translates to one hit per four official at-bats, but the slugging infielder is making the most of the situations where he does make contact – he has 18 homers and 59 RBI. That kind of production is enough reason to give him a captaincy role.
Captaincy Options
Dream11 Team
P – Hideaki Wakui
C – Shingo Usami
IF – Sho Nakata
IF – Ryo Watanabe
IF – Hiroto Kobukata
IF – Hideto Asamura (VC)
OF – Stefen Romero (C)
OF – Haruki Nishikawa
OF – Kazuki Tanaka
