This matchup looks less settled than the standings suggest. The key is the switch from Kotaro Ohtake to Yuki Nishi: Hiroshima managed only two hits against Ohtake, while Nishi's latest top-level start lasted just 3⅓ innings. With Shogo Tamamura starting for Hiroshima, the middle innings look set to decide where the pressure falls.
Nishi allowed seven hits and three walks in that outing against Yakult, with four earned runs. Tamamura held Yakult scoreless for 5⅓ innings in a September start, then worked five innings against Yomiuri in his latest appearance. The different starters give Hiroshima a clearer route to the Hanshin bullpen than the previous meeting showed.
Hanshin collected nine hits in that last meeting but scored twice. Hiroshima's starter lasted two innings, so four relievers covered the rest. How each club gets from its starter to the late innings is the matchup I am backing here.
