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The final series before NPB' interleague play resulted in the Saitama Seibu Lions losing two out of three to the Chiba Lotte Marines. They currently sit outside of A-class behind the Fighters and are only one game above .500. Here's how the series went down:
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The first game in Chiba had Kona Takahashi and Kota Futaki going at it. A fielding error from Daisuke Togawa let two runs go in the Marines favor for a 2-0 lead in the first. Takeya "Okawari-kun" Nakamura had a timely in the second to respond, but a game-tying HR from Togawa in the fifth evened everything up.
Even after that HR, the Lions were able to string together some hits and Shuta Tonosaki hit a timely up the middle for a 3-2 lead. Takahashi had to battle, but forced a double play with runners on the corners in the bottom of the frame. He was able to go 6.2 innings before Katsunori Hirai came in and forced a ground ball with an inherited bases-loaded situation.
Both Hirai and Tatsushi Masuda had no trouble in the 8th and 9th as Takahashi won his third straight game.
Lions 3, Marines 2
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The second game featured Daiki Enokida against Mike Bolsinger. It was a rough beginning for Bolsinger as Takumi Kuriyama's timely hit made it 3-0 in the first, but both sides were trading runs throughout the day. Daichi Suzuki hit a two-run HR, Tonosaki had a solo HR and the Marines eventually had a 6-5 lead in the 5th inning where Enokida couldn't last.
The Lions were able to get runners on base in the 7th and a timely hit from Okawari-kun made it 7-6, but Ryosuke Moriwaki couldn't hang on to the lead in the bottom of the frame and it was tied up again. Both sides had chances in the late frames including Fumikazu Kimura up in the top of the 10th with a runner on second, but this game went Chiba's way as an overworked Hirai struggled and gave up the game-losing run on a sayonara hit to Suzuki.
Marines 8, Lions 7 (10 innings)
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The final matchup of the weekend had Ayumu Ishikawa and Wataru Matsumoto. This game was over from the start as Matsumoto was rocked for three home runs, including a grand slam by Naoya Emura which made it 8-0 after five innings. Ishikawa cruised through seven frames with the lone run coming from a HR off Hotaka Yamkawa.
As a result, the Lions lost the final series before going into Interleague Play.
Marines 8, Lions 1
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Not the most ideal series, but it's also not the end of the world. The starting pitching is still too flawed to be a contender, but the hitting keeps them afloat. If anything, Kona Takahashi's outing through a tough battle is encouraging as he's been on a role.
This change of pace could make or break the Lions if they have extreme winning or losing in the next 18 games.
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