This opener looks like a contest between short scoring sequences and the pitchers brought in to stop them. Both starting pitchers have shown ways to interrupt the opposing batting order, while each attack has identifiable links that can produce a run. The change from starters to relievers is central to the match, with later chances carrying as much weight as the opening exchanges.
DeNA can create damage at the front through Watarai and Maki, then build another chance around Sano and the hitters behind him. In their latest game, Watarai opened with a homer, Maki doubled before Sano drove him in, and a later Sano hit led through Ebina's sacrifice to Tobashira's two-out finish. Those are separate ways to score rather than dependence on one big swing.
Taira's sidearm delivery has troubled Sato, and his latest start allowed two hits and one run across six innings. Hanshin's Morishita and Oyama have also made a working connection against him. At the other end, Murakami's low locations and changes of speed make the early Watarai–Maki exchanges a key contest. I expect intermittent chances through the middle innings, followed by a meaningful battle at the pitching changes.
DeNA's recent batting core remains on the latest active roster. Hiroya Sakamoto's shoulder surgery had already removed a left-handed relief option before the latest win, when Iwata performed that role. Iwata, Ise, Hamachi and Reynolds combined for four hitless, scoreless innings in that game, and DeNA have had two full days without a game since then. That gives the late sequence recent substance, without treating the batting order or relief order as announced.
The September meeting supplies the clearest reason to put weight on that later phase: DeNA won after Murakami delivered seven scoreless innings, with Miyazaki's homer deciding the relief contest. Combined with Taira's selective suppression and the latest game's early and late scoring connections, that is why I'm siding with the Yokohama BayStars to win.
