This one turns on the two starters, not the league table. Hanshin has already wrapped up the title, but the man on the mound is Yuki Nishi in his retirement start, coming back after about five weeks off the roster with no inning or pitch limit. Opposite him is Shogo Tamamura, one of Hiroshima's steadiest arms lately, who has not faced Hanshin yet this season.
Nishi's season line looks fine at 3.29, but it sits on only eight starts and 38.1 innings, with a 4.32 FIP and a 1.30 WHIP. His last outing, on Sept. 2, was 3.1 innings, seven hits and four runs, and he has lost his last four decisions. Tamamura is at 2.76 over 15 starts with a 1.09 WHIP and about three and a half strikeouts per walk, and his ERA over his last four starts is 2.21.
The stakes also differ in a way the table does not show. Hanshin is champion, has another home game coming right after this one, and its regulars may get time off before the climax series; the lineup is not out yet. Hiroshima is out of the playoff race and this is its last scheduled game, and in the last meeting at home it had a four-run third inning against Hanshin.
