This article is part of our Dream11 Fantasy NPB series.
ORIX Buffaloes (8-11-2) vs Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (10-10-1)
Tuesday, July 14th, 5:00 AM EDT
Projected Starters
LHP Andrew Albers (1-1, 2.12 ERA) vs RHP Kodai Senga (1-0, 5.40 ERA)
Game Preview
Neither the Buffaloes nor the Hawks have looked very impressive during the current season, and both teams are still trying to find consistency. Both clubs are also at or under the .500 mark in the Pacific League standings, although the Hawks sit just 2.5 games behind the league-leading Rakuten Golden Eagles, so they seem to be better equipped ahead of this duel. Speaking of duels, the pitching matchup will be one to watch closely. The Buffaloes will send Andrew Albers to the mound, while the Hawks will trout their ace and #1 starter, Kodai Senga. Albers carries a 2.12 ERA and 0.76 WHIP over 17 innings this year. Meanwhile, Senga missed a few weeks due to injury but looked impressive in his season debut, allowing three runs across five innings. He went 13-8 with a 2.79 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 11.3 K/9 over 180.1 innings in 2019.
Buffaloes' Expected Lineup
1B – Takahiro Okada
DH – Aderlin Rodriguez
LF – Masataka Yoshida
RF – Adam Jones
3B – Keita Nakagawa
2B – Koji Ohshiro
C – Kenya Wakatsuki
SS – Ryoichi Adachi
CF – Shunta Gotoh
Hawks' Expected Lineup
RF – Seiji Uebayashi
1B – Ryoya Kurihara
CF – Yuki Yanagita
DH – Wladimir Balentien
LF – Yuya Hasegawa
3B – Nobuhiro Matsuda
SS – Kenta Imamiya
C
ORIX Buffaloes (8-11-2) vs Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (10-10-1)
Tuesday, July 14th, 5:00 AM EDT
Projected Starters
LHP Andrew Albers (1-1, 2.12 ERA) vs RHP Kodai Senga (1-0, 5.40 ERA)
Game Preview
Neither the Buffaloes nor the Hawks have looked very impressive during the current season, and both teams are still trying to find consistency. Both clubs are also at or under the .500 mark in the Pacific League standings, although the Hawks sit just 2.5 games behind the league-leading Rakuten Golden Eagles, so they seem to be better equipped ahead of this duel. Speaking of duels, the pitching matchup will be one to watch closely. The Buffaloes will send Andrew Albers to the mound, while the Hawks will trout their ace and #1 starter, Kodai Senga. Albers carries a 2.12 ERA and 0.76 WHIP over 17 innings this year. Meanwhile, Senga missed a few weeks due to injury but looked impressive in his season debut, allowing three runs across five innings. He went 13-8 with a 2.79 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 11.3 K/9 over 180.1 innings in 2019.
Buffaloes' Expected Lineup
1B – Takahiro Okada
DH – Aderlin Rodriguez
LF – Masataka Yoshida
RF – Adam Jones
3B – Keita Nakagawa
2B – Koji Ohshiro
C – Kenya Wakatsuki
SS – Ryoichi Adachi
CF – Shunta Gotoh
Hawks' Expected Lineup
RF – Seiji Uebayashi
1B – Ryoya Kurihara
CF – Yuki Yanagita
DH – Wladimir Balentien
LF – Yuya Hasegawa
3B – Nobuhiro Matsuda
SS – Kenta Imamiya
C – Takuya Kai
2B – Taisei Makihara
Top Picks
Masataka Yoshida, Buffaloes: Yoshida enters this game as the best source for offense in the Buffaloes roster. He has four home runs with 13 RBI in 2020 and, to make things even better, he has done so while hitting .359 in 78 at-bats.
Yuki Yanagita, Hawks: Yanagita has been the most productive hitter in the Hawks roster this season, and he enters this matchup with eight homers and 16 RBI while posting a .333/.452/.733 slash line in 93 plate appearances.
Andrew Albers, Buffaloes: Albers is coming off a dominant start and has quickly settled as one of the most dominant arms in the Buffaloes staff. He carries a 2.12 ERA and 0.76 WHIP over 17 innings this year, and he has surpassed even the most positive expectations that experts had on him this season.
Wladimir Balentien, Hawks: Balentien's value gets a downgrade since he struggles to hit for average, as evidenced by his .211 mark in 76 at-bats. However, he tends to produce when he makes contact. The veteran slugger has five homers and 15 RBI this season.
Captaincy Options
Dream11 Team
P – Andrew Albers
C – Ryoya Kurihara
IF – Aderlin Rodriguez
IF – Richard Sunagawa
OF – Yuki Yanagita (VC)
OF – Wladimir Balentien
OF – Takahiro Okada
OF – Masataka Yoshida (C)
OF – Adam Jones
