Dream11 Fantasy NPB: Marines at Buffaloes

Chiba Lotte Marines (19-19-1) at Orix Buffaloes (14-21-4)

Wednesday, August 5th, 5:00 AM EDT

Projected Starters

Orix Buffaloes: RHP Yu Suzuki (1-2, 6.04 ERA)

Chiba Lotte Marines: LHP Kazuya Ojima (2-3, 4.73 ERA)

Game Preview

The Buffaloes have struggled massively all season long, and they currently sit in last place of the Pacific League with a 14-21-4 record. They have won just once in their last five games as well, going 1-3-1 during that stretch. As for the Marines, they sit in third place with a 19-19-1 record but have lost just two of their last five games, winning twice and drawing once during that stretch. The pitching matchup for this contest does not feature many enticing alternatives, with Kazuya Ojima notching a 4.73 ERA. That's better than what the Buffaloes will send, however, as Yu Suzuki owns a 6.04 ERA in the current campaign. This seems like a game where the offenses will decide the outcome and, with that in mind, the Marines might have an advantage given their superior lineup.

Injuries

Andrew Albers - Out - Undisclosed

7/30 2:57 AM IST - The Buffaloes deactivated Albers on Wednesday, Jim Allen of JBallAllen.com reports. Though an explanation for Albers' removal from the roster isn't known, it's likely the result of an injury rather than any dissatisfaction the club may have had with his performance. The 34-year-old southpaw had fared respectably through his first six starts, going 2-3 with a 3.78 ERA and 29:9 K:BB over 33.1 innings.

Motoki Higa - Out - Biceps

7/9 4:26 AM IST - Higa was removed from the Buffaloes roster Wednesday due to an injury to his left biceps muscle, Full-Count.jp reports. Higa is a right-handed pitcher for Orix, so while his biceps issue appears fairly concerning, it's somewhat of a relief that the injury is to his non-throwing arm. The 37-year-old has been a trusted member of the Buffaloes bullpen so far during the young season, appearing in eight games and recording four holds while having yet to allow a run.

Shoki Katsumata - Out - Orbital

7/23 1:17 AM IST - Katsumata was diagnosed Wednesday with a orbital floor fracture of his right eye, Full-Count.jp reports. Katsumata sustained the injury after being hit in the eye during a defensive drill with the Buffaloes' minor-league affiliate. The 23-year-old appeared in three games with Orix earlier this season, going 0-for-4 at the dish in those contests.

Yuji Nishino - Out - Elbow

6/30 10:26 AM IST - Nishino (elbow) underwent Tommy John surgery Monday. Nishino suffered a torn medical collateral ligament in his right elbow in mid-June, and he underwent surgery to repair it Monday. If all goes smoothly, he should be able to resume throwing in approximately four months.

Takashi Ogino - Out - Biceps

7/23 3:09 PM IST - Ogino was removed from the Marines' active roster Thursday with a right biceps injury. Ogino suffered the injury Wednesday, and he'll miss at least 10 days as a result. It's unclear exactly how much time he'll miss. In his absence Shuhei Fukuda should see an uptick in playing time.

Aderlin Rodriguez - Out - Forearm

7/31 1:35 AM IST - The Buffaloes deactivated Rodriguez on Thursday after he suffered a left forearm contusion in Wednesday's game against the Fighters, Jim Allen of JBallAllen.com reports. Rodriguez was credited with a game-tying RBI when he was hit by the pitch, but it came at a costly price. While Rodriguez was fortunate that X-rays cleared him of any structural damage to his forearm, he'll still be shut down for a few days while he looks to shake off the bruise. Rodriguez is batting .223 with five home runs and 19 RBI across 142 plate appearances on the season.

Atsuki Taneichi - Out - Undisclosed

8/3 7:10 AM IST - The Marines deactivated Taneichi on Sunday, Jim Allen of JBallAllen.com reports. The 21-year-old's demotion comes after he followed up a 10-strikeout, four-hit shutout July 25 against the Lions with a disaster of an outing in Saturday's 8-0 loss to the Eagles. He struggled with locating his pitches in the start, giving up all eight runs on 12 hits and three walks over 5.2 innings. Assuming there's no physical issue behind his deactivation, Taneichi will likely head to the Marines' farm team for the next week or so to get his command woes figured out before he rejoins the big club.

Taisuke Yamaoka - Out - Oblique

6/27 9:58 AM IST - Yamaoka (oblique) was diagnosed with muscle damage and will likely miss some time as a result of his injury from Friday's loss to the Marines, Baseball King reports. The right-hander exited Friday's start after just three pitches after experiencing left flank discomfort, and he underwent an MRI on Friday that revealed "muscle damage of the left internal oblique muscle." Yamaoka will be sidelined until at least July 7, but it's unclear whether he'll have to miss any additional time afterwards.

Orix Buffaloes Expected Lineup

SP - Yu Suzuki

1. Takahiro Okada

2. Aderlin Rodriguez

3. Masataka Yoshida

4. Adam Jones

5. Keita Nakagawa

6. Koji Ohshiro

7. Kenya Wakatsuki

8. Ryoichi Adachi

9. Shunta Gotoh

Chiba Lotte Marines Expected Lineup

SP - Kazuya Ojima

1. Takashi Ogino

2. Leonys Martin

3. Ikuhiro Kiyota

4. Brandon Laird

5. Seiya Inoue

6. Shogo Nakamura

7. Hisanori Yasuda

8. Tatsuhiro Tamura

9. Yudai Fujioka

Top Picks

Seiya Inoue, Marines: Inoue has connected eight home runs this season, but he is also leading the team in the RBI department with 30 while hitting a solid .267 in 131 at-bats. He should be one of the team's biggest offensive threats once again.

Leonys Martin, Marines: Martin has emerged as quite a power threat in the NPB, and he has racked up eight home runs already to go along with 22 RBI and a solid .272 batting average.

Masataka Yoshida, Buffaloes: Yoshida has been the best player on the Orix lineup by a wide margin, and he is leading the team in several offensive categories such as batting average (.338), home runs (seven), RBI (23) and OPS (1.014), among others.

Adam Jones, Buffaloes: The former MLB veteran has been one of the top offensive threats on the Buffaloes roster all season long, and he is one of three Orix players who have connected five home runs. He is also doing it with a decent average (.252) while also racking up 22 RBI.

Captaincy Options

1. Seiya Inoue
2. Leonys Martin
3. Masataka Yoshida

Dream11 Team

P – Kazuya Ojima

C – Naoya Emura

IF – Brandon Laird

IF – Seiya Inoue

IF – Ryo Ohta

OF – Kodai Sano

OF – Masataka Yoshida

OF – Leonys Martin

OF – Adam Jones