This article is part of our Dream11 Fantasy NPB series.
BayStars (15-16-1) at Giants (19-9-2)
July 28th, 5:00 AM EDT
Projected Starters
Giants: RHP Tomoyuki Sugano (4-0, 1.77 ERA)
BayStars: RHP Kentaro Taira (2-1, 1.88 ERA)
Game Preview
The Giants and the BayStars are riding different runs of form heading into Tuesday's contest. While the Giants are sitting at the top of the Central League standings with a 19-9-2 record and a 2-2-1 record in their last five, the BayStars are 3-1-1 in their last five but sit in fourth place with 15 wins and 16 losses, while drawing once. The Giants are comfortable looking towards a playoff spot, while the BayStars remain outside of the postseason picture despite their good results last week. The pitching matchup ahead of this duel certainly stands out, with the Giants trotting Tomoyuki Sugano and the BayStars responding with Kentaro Taira. Surprisingly, both pitchers have ERAs under the 2.00 mark. While Sugano has a 1.77 ERA for one of the best teams in the league, Taira has done his part for the BayStars with a 1.88 ERA in 38.1 innings.
Injuries
Giants
Rubby De La Rosa - Out - Abdomen
7/7 1:49 AM IST - De La Rosa was removed from the Giants' active roster Monday due to a left abdominal muscle strain, NikkanSports.com reports. De La Rosa was off to a hot start in his first full season in NPB, notching four saves and allowing no runs in his five appearances with the club. He'll most likely be down for at least
BayStars (15-16-1) at Giants (19-9-2)
July 28th, 5:00 AM EDT
Projected Starters
Giants: RHP Tomoyuki Sugano (4-0, 1.77 ERA)
BayStars: RHP Kentaro Taira (2-1, 1.88 ERA)
Game Preview
The Giants and the BayStars are riding different runs of form heading into Tuesday's contest. While the Giants are sitting at the top of the Central League standings with a 19-9-2 record and a 2-2-1 record in their last five, the BayStars are 3-1-1 in their last five but sit in fourth place with 15 wins and 16 losses, while drawing once. The Giants are comfortable looking towards a playoff spot, while the BayStars remain outside of the postseason picture despite their good results last week. The pitching matchup ahead of this duel certainly stands out, with the Giants trotting Tomoyuki Sugano and the BayStars responding with Kentaro Taira. Surprisingly, both pitchers have ERAs under the 2.00 mark. While Sugano has a 1.77 ERA for one of the best teams in the league, Taira has done his part for the BayStars with a 1.88 ERA in 38.1 innings.
Injuries
Giants
Rubby De La Rosa - Out - Abdomen
7/7 1:49 AM IST - De La Rosa was removed from the Giants' active roster Monday due to a left abdominal muscle strain, NikkanSports.com reports. De La Rosa was off to a hot start in his first full season in NPB, notching four saves and allowing no runs in his five appearances with the club. He'll most likely be down for at least a few days with the injury before the Giants are able to pinpoint a target date for his return.
Seiji Kobayashi - Out - Forearm
6/23 2:14 PM IST - Kobayashi will miss 3-to-4 weeks with a fractured left forearm, according to sponichi.co.jp. Kobayashi started the Giants' first and third games behind the plate, but he will not take the field again until sometime in July. Ginjiro Sumitani and Takumi Oshiro are in line to share the catching duties for the Giants until Kobayashi returns.
Kazuto Taguchi - Out - Undisclosed
7/5 9:44 AM IST - Taguchi was removed from the Giants' first-team roster Sunday. Taguchi was pulled from Saturday's start against the Dragons after three scoreless innings due to an apparent injury, and it appears he may miss some time. The specifics remain unclear, but any absence could be significant since he has a 2.08 ERA this season.
Kota Yamashita - Out - Hand
7/9 4:36 AM IST - Yamashita, who has been sidelined all season with a broken right hand, was able to complete some on-field activities Wednesday, Sponichi.co.jp reports. The 19-year-old outfielder/first baseman only has 13 career NPB plate appearances to his name, but manager Tatsunori Hara suggested Yamashita could be a candidate for an everyday role before he sustained the injury shortly before Opening Day. Yamashita was at least fortunate that the injury was to his non-throwing hand, so he may have a shorter recovery timeline than one normally associated with a fracture. He was able to hit off the tee and play catch Wednesday, so expect him to ramp up his activities in the weeks to come.
Giants' Expected Lineup
SP - Tomoyuki Sugano
1. Naoki Yoshikawa
2. Hayato Sakamoto
3. Yoshihiro Maru
4. Kazuma Okamoto
5. Yoshiyuki Kamei
6. Hiroyuki Nakajima
7. Gerardo Parra
8. Ginjiro Sumitani
9. Tomoyuki Sugano
BayStars' Expected Lineup
SP - Kentaro Taira
1. Takayuki Kajitani
2. Tomo Otosaka
3. Neftali Soto
4. Keita Sano
5. Jose Lopez
6. Toshiro Miyazaki
7. Hikaru Itoh
8. Yamato Maeda
9. Kentaro Taira
Top Picks
Kazuma Okamoto, Giants: The Giants' clean-up hitter has been one of the best offensive threats in the entire league. He has 11 homers with 31 RBI, but he has also hit .319 with a stellar 1.052 OPS in 129 plate appearances.
Takayuki Kajitani, BayStars: Kajitani should be the BayStars' biggest source for offense in this game, as he enters this matchup hitting an impressive .288 with six home runs and 15 RBI in 32 games. Hitting at the top of the order also boosts his value.
Gerardo Parra, Giants: Parra has a lot of MLB experience under his belt and it has been noticeable thus far. Through 25 games, the veteran outfielder is hitting a strong .325 with three homers and 11 RBI.
Neftali Soto, BayStars: Soto might be not as productive as Kajitani, but there's no question he also carries decent value into this matchup. The slugger has seven home runs with 21 RBI this season, and he has done while hitting at a .271 clip with a .483 slugging percentage.
Captaincy Options
Dream11 Team
P – Tomoyuki Sugano
C – Takumi Ohshiro
IF – Kazuma Okamoto (C)
IF – Neftali Soto
IF – Akihiro Wakabayashi
OF – Yoshihiro Maru
OF – Kazuki Kamizato
OF – Gerardo Parra
OF – Takayuki Kajitani (VC)
