The Seibu Lions and Nippon Ham Fighters swapped players on Thursday. Twenty-nine-year-old lefty Katsuhiko Kumon and 23-year-old infielder Shota Hiranuma moved to the Lions while 32-year-old outfielder Fumikazu Kimura and 24-year-old third baseman Ryusei Sato go to the Fighters.
Olympic break special offer
3 Free Months: Japanese baseball is cranking back up after its nearly month-long Olympic break. To mark the occasion all new (or returning) paid subscribers by Sunday, Aug. 15, will get three months free. Paid subscribers get unlimited access to paid content and all posts older than 6 months. So now’s a great chance to keep up as the pennant race heats up.
None of the players have been active on the first team this season.
Despite having Olympian Kaima Taira on board, the Lions have, according to Delta Graphs, the worst bullpen in either league.
Starting pitchers
Lions vs Eagles: MetLife Dome 5:45 pm, 4:45 am EDT
Wataru Matsumoto (7-4, 3.35) vs Takayuki Kishi (4-6, 3.65)
Marines vs Buffaloes: Zozo Marine Stadium 5:45 pm, 4:45 am EDT
Kota Futaki (4-4, 3.97) vs Hiroya Miyagi (9-1, 2.10)
Hawks vs Fighters: PayPay Dome 6 pm, 5 am EDT
Shuta Ishikawa (3-8, 3.29) vs Takayuki Kato (3-5, 3.72)
Giants vs Dragons: Tokyo Dome 5:45 pm, 4:45 am EDT
Shun Yamaguchi (2-1, 2.45) vs Yuya Yanagi (7-5, 2.42)
Tigers vs Carp: Kyocera Dome (Osaka) 6 pm, 5 am EDT
Yuki Nishi (4-6, 3.19) vs Daichi Osera (3-3, 3.74)
