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The Saitama Seibu Lions had a winning month of May at 13-11, but they started off the first week of interleague play with a 2-4 record against the Tokyo Yakult Swallows and Hiroshima Carp riding a four-game losing streak.
It was the first time being swept in a three-game series since Opening Weekend against the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.
With the recent losing, they sit in B-class behind the SoftBank Hawks in 4th place due to percentage points.
Lions are fortunate up to this point
Last season, the Lions were a complete failure in one-run games. Through June 8, they sit at a 12-6 record in this situation and this could mean things catch up to them. With Sunday's 10-0 loss to close out the series in Hiroshima, the Lions run differential is now +2.
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Offense is improved from 2024, but may not be enough for A-class
The Lions went from horrible to now several steps below average on hitting. Manaya Nishikawa has been promising, but slowed down.
Seiya Watanabe remains out with injury and has already missed more than 20 games total with weeks away from the ichi-gun roster. They try to make up for it with stolen bases, but going over aggressive in running could come back to bite.
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Lack of ties in extra innings could come back to hurt
The Lions are one of two Pacific League teams to not have a stalemate in their record. Four of those losses on the road were walkoffs and in extra innings with one of them even reaching the 12th.
They've had their share of wins at home, but being clutch has become an issue the longer the game goes when away.
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The mixed bag of imports
With the Lions being the worst Pacific League team in 2024, they were forced to make several foreign signings and it's looking average as a whole. Leandro Cedeño has been a disappointment with a stint off the ichi-gun.
Tyler Nevin plays great defense and similarly compared to David MacKinnon having a lack of power hitting. Yet he does his part in the lineup.
Trey Wingenter has been the setup man and mostly reliable. However, the Lions don't trust Emmanuel Ramirez to take meaningful innings as he's down to mop up duties.
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Cedeño's lack of presence has caused no power threats
The leader in home runs for 2024 was a tie between part time veteran Takeya Nakamura and Shuta Tonosaki with seven. As long as Tyler Nevin is healthy, he will likely hit at least 10 HRs, but the lack of team pop remains, an issue since Hotaka Yamakawa was suspended in 2023.
Only question is, do the Lions give up on Cedeño? It's not looking good.
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Slow start for Takeuchi, but rotation is fine.
Natsuki Takeuchi, the reigning Pacific League rookie of the Year, has been off to a rough beginning after returning from an offseason injury. He was the culprit for why the Carp broke the game open on Sunday.
The stars in Chihiro Sumida and Tatsuya Imai have had nearly no trouble while the rotation has had good value from Yutaro Watanabe and Shinya Sugai.
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Bullpen regulars have been established
The aforementioned Wingenter has taken the 8th inning, but Fumiya Nishiguchi has used Haruto Yamada and Hiroshi Kaino for the 6th or 7th innings as the bridge to eventually get to Kaima Taira.
In spite of a down season for Shunsuke Sato, other have picked up the slack. There could always be a chance Yoshinobu Mizukami can earn his way back someday too.
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What is this team?
The Lions are competitive, but the offense reflects that things could get ice cold soon as long as S. Watanabe is out. In 2016, a sweep defeat in Hiroshima ended the Lions season or any hope.
There are still two more weeks of interleague play that could break this team if the hitting doesn't get better.
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