Sports · Baseball · 1 hr ago
Nippon-Ham reshuffles lineup for crucial playoff game against SoftBank
The Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters reshuffled their lineup for Game 2 against the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks on October 15.
Kotaro Kiyomiya moved into the third spot, while pitcher Koki Kitayama was named the starter.
Kitayama won 13 games this season and earned the league's most-wins title.
The Pacific League final stage is a seven-game series, and SoftBank began with a two-win advantage.
Nippon-Ham lost the opening game after leading, leaving it down 0-3 in the series.
A loss in Game 2 would leave the Fighters with no wins and four losses, so they need a victory to begin a comeback.
Nippon-Ham announced a reshuffled starting lineup for its Pacific League playoff game against SoftBank on October 15.
Kotaro Kiyomiya was moved to third in the batting order, while pitcher Kota Yazawa was named leadoff hitter.
Koki Kitayama, who won 13 games and earned the season’s most-wins title, was named Nippon-Ham’s starting pitcher.
Nippon-Ham entered the game trailing 0-3 in the best-of-seven final stage after losing the opener on October 14.
SoftBank began the series with a two-win advantage, and Nippon-Ham faced elimination from the title race if it lost again.
- Who
- Nippon-Ham Fighters and Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.
- What
- Nippon-Ham reshuffled its starting lineup and named Koki Kitayama to start.
- When
- October 15, 2026.
- Where
- Mizuho PayPay Dome, Fukuoka.
- Why
- Nippon-Ham sought to recover after losing the first game and falling behind 0-3.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Nippon-Ham lost the opening game after SoftBank came back.
Nippon-Ham announced its revised lineup and named Kitayama as its starting pitcher for Game 2.
- Series
- 2026 Pacific League Climax Series final stage, Game 2
- Nippon-Ham lineup
- Kotaro Kiyomiya batting third; Kota Yazawa leading off
- Starting pitcher
- Koki Kitayama
- Kitayama’s season wins
- 13
- Series position
- Nippon-Ham 0-3; SoftBank held a two-win advantage at the start of the series