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[Seibu Lions Today's Highlights] Winans, with a batting average against lefties in the .100s, makes his first start against a Hawks lineup filled with left-handed hitters

2026年7月1日 08:38

● Winans: Batting average against righties .279, against lefties .175

[1st ◇ Hawks vs. Lions Game 13 (Mizuho PayPay) 18:00]
Since the league resumed, the Lions have already suffered their second three-game losing streak. Their surplus of wins, which reached a maximum of 19, has dwindled to 14. In the last three games in particular, not only has the offense been sluggish with 2, 1, and 0 runs scored, but the defense also struggled yesterday, committing 3 errors in a single game, tying their worst of the season, as the fielders lacked sharpness.

Winans has been entrusted with the start to stop the losing streak. This will be his first appearance against the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.

In his previous start on the 23rd against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, he allowed 9 hits and 5 runs, both the worst of his time in Japan. In that game, he was hit hard by right-handed batters, including a home run and an RBI single by McCascar and a 2-run RBI double by Kazuki Murabayashi, highlighting a trend where Winans has been vulnerable to right-handed hitters so far.

Perhaps it is because he uses his finishing pitch, the changeup, less frequently against right-handed batters. There is a significant difference in his batting average against hitters by handedness, with .279 against righties and .175 against lefties.

Winans: Batting average against hitters by handedness

However, today's opponent, the Hawks, has a lineup dominated by left-handed hitters at its core, including Ukyo Shuto, Kensuke Kondo, Ryoya Kurihara, Tatsu Yanagimachi, and Yuki Yanagita. This might actually be a more comfortable situation for Winans to pitch in.

● Yugo Maeda: All 4 home runs allowed were against right-handed batters

The Hawks' starter is 3rd-year pitcher Yugo Maeda, a graduate of Osaka Toin High School. After making his first start of the season in May, he has gone on a 5-game winning streak since then, quickly securing a spot in the starting rotation. This is also his first start against the Lions.

Although southpaw Yugo Maeda has a batting average against righties of .210 and .196 against lefties, which is not a huge difference, all 4 home runs he has allowed have been to right-handed batters. The Lions' lineup will want to find a path to victory here.

Yugo Maeda: Batting average against hitters by handedness

Among the Lions' batters, Nevin has hit 7 of his 11 home runs against left-handed pitchers. Similarly, Seiya Watanabe has hit 5 of his 7 home runs against left-handed pitchers.

In a surprising turn, left-handed batter Kazunari Ishii has posted a .303 batting average against left-handed pitchers. Of his 3 home runs, 2 were hit against southpaws: Haru Matsumoto of the Hawks and Haruto Inoue of the Yomiuri Giants.

**Lions: Key batters' performance against pitchers by handedness**

Regarding Yugo Maeda, he has not reached 30 innings pitched over the past two years, so he still qualifies for the Rookie of the Year award.

Although it is still early, he might become a rival for the Rookie of the Year award against Lions players like Sora Iwaki, Hibiki Shinohara, and Taiga Kojima. Considering the impact on the press vote, it would be best to stop Maeda's winning streak now.