This article is part of our Dream11 Fantasy NPB series.
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (8-14-2) vs Chiba Lotte Marines (13-10)
Friday, July 17th, 5:00 AM EDT
Projected Starters
RHP Ayumu Ishikawa (0-1, 3.96 ERA) vs RHP Kohei Arihara (0-3, 3.67 ERA)
Game Preview
The Fighters and the Marines are moving through different spectrums of the Pacific League standings at the moment. While the Fighters are in last place with only eight wins out of 24 games, the Marines seem to be the only team that's able to put up a fight with the Rakuten Golden Eagles and are just two games behind him for the top spot in the standings. This will also be the fourth straight matchup between these two franchises and Lotte have gone 2-1 so far after winning Thursday's matchup by a tightly contested 4-3 score. The pitching duel for this one will feature Kohei Arihara for the Fighters, and Ayumu Ishikawa for the Marines. Both are each team's designated #1 starters, but the results have not been up to that standard. Ashikawa has a 3.96 ERA, while Ahihara has posted a 3.67 mark while remaining winless to date.
Fighters' Expected Lineup
CF – Haruki Nishikawa
RF – Taishi Ohta
LF – Kensuke Kondoh
1B – Sho Nakata
2B – Ryo Watanabe
3B – Christian Villanueva
DH – Kotaro Kiyomiya
C – Shingo Usami
SS – Takuya Nakashima
Marines' Expected Lineup
CF – Takashi Ogino
RF – Leonys Martin
LF – Ikuhiro Kiyota
3B – Brandon Laird
1B – Seiya Inoue
2B – Shogo Nakamura
DH – Hisanori
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (8-14-2) vs Chiba Lotte Marines (13-10)
Friday, July 17th, 5:00 AM EDT
Projected Starters
RHP Ayumu Ishikawa (0-1, 3.96 ERA) vs RHP Kohei Arihara (0-3, 3.67 ERA)
Game Preview
The Fighters and the Marines are moving through different spectrums of the Pacific League standings at the moment. While the Fighters are in last place with only eight wins out of 24 games, the Marines seem to be the only team that's able to put up a fight with the Rakuten Golden Eagles and are just two games behind him for the top spot in the standings. This will also be the fourth straight matchup between these two franchises and Lotte have gone 2-1 so far after winning Thursday's matchup by a tightly contested 4-3 score. The pitching duel for this one will feature Kohei Arihara for the Fighters, and Ayumu Ishikawa for the Marines. Both are each team's designated #1 starters, but the results have not been up to that standard. Ashikawa has a 3.96 ERA, while Ahihara has posted a 3.67 mark while remaining winless to date.
Fighters' Expected Lineup
CF – Haruki Nishikawa
RF – Taishi Ohta
LF – Kensuke Kondoh
1B – Sho Nakata
2B – Ryo Watanabe
3B – Christian Villanueva
DH – Kotaro Kiyomiya
C – Shingo Usami
SS – Takuya Nakashima
Marines' Expected Lineup
CF – Takashi Ogino
RF – Leonys Martin
LF – Ikuhiro Kiyota
3B – Brandon Laird
1B – Seiya Inoue
2B – Shogo Nakamura
DH – Hisanori Yasuda
C – Tatsuhiro Tamura
SS – Yudai Fujioka
Top Picks
Leonys Martin, Marines: Martin has plenty of MLB experience and that is noticeable in a lower level such as the NPB, where he has recorded five home runs and 17 RBI in only 78 at-bats. To make things even better, he has a .400 on-base percentage, so he is a threat to do damage even if he's not producing runs. He just needs to get on base.
Brandon Laird, Marines: Laird's .241 average doesn't stand out, but he is getting on base at a decent clip thanks to a .326 on-base percentage while adding five home runs and 13 RBI. He should be one of the most reliable bats in the Marines lineup.
Sho Nakata, Fighters: Nakata has been one of the best hitters in the NPB this season and his power has been on full display, as he has seven home runs and 21 RBI in 2020. He also enters this matchup with a strong .256/.365/.547 slash line.
Kohei Arihara, Marines: Arihara was dominant against the Buffaloes during last Friday's contest and left the Fighters with a three-run lead after seven innings. However, the bullpen collapsed late in the game and prevented the right-hander from picking up his first win of 2020. Arihara has posted a 3.67 ERA and 1.04 WHIP through 27 innings this season. He is bound to earn his first win sooner than later.
Captaincy Options
Dream11 Team
P – Kohei Arihara
C – Toshiya Satoh
IF – Ryo Watanabe
IF – Brandon Laird (VC)
IF – Sho Nakata
IF – Kei Hosoya
IF – Seiya Inoue
OF – Leonys Martin (C)
OF – Kensuke Kondoh
