Here are the starting pitchers for NPB’s games of Saturday, June 27.

Pacific League

Eagles vs Fighters: Rakuten Seimei Park Miyagi 2 pm, 1 am EDT

Yuki Matsui (0-0) vs Takayuki Kato (0-0)

Lions vs Hawks: MetLife Dome 2 pm, 1 am EDT

Wataru Matsumoto (0-1) vs Tsuyoshi Wada (0-0)

Marines vs Buffaloes: Zozo Marine Stadium 2 pm, 1 am EDT

Atsuki Taneichi (0-0) vs Daiki Tajima (0-0)

Central League

Dragons vs Carp: Nagoya Dome 2 pm, 1 am EDT

Kazuki Yoshimi (0-1) vs Hiroki Tokoda (0-0)

BayStars vs Tigers: Yokohama Stadium 6 pm, 5 am EDT

MICHAEL PEOPLES (0-0) vs Yuta Iwasada (0-1)

Swallows vs Giants: Jingu Stadium 2 pm, 1 am EDT

Yasuhiro Ogawa (1-0) vs Kazuto Taguchi (1-0)

Ogawa had a nice start to the 2020 season, two runs, six strikeouts, no walks over six innings, which is a nice break from his 5-12 finish in 2019, when he led both leagues in losses.

Taguchi was one of Japan’s most reliable starters in 2016 and 2017, but his strikeouts began to diminish in 2018 and he found himself in the bullpen last year. His first start was not an overwhelming success, with three walks and a home run over five innings, but it must be nice to be back in the rotation.