This season, Lotte had three foreign pitcher play in pitcher first team: Austin Boss, Brian Sammons, and Tyron Guerrero.
Boss pitched in 68 games for the Seattle Mariners last season, but he aspired to be a starter and chose the Lotte Marines over the majors to shine. His first regular season appearance in Japan was against Softbank on March 29, where he gave up four runs in five innings, and then against Rakuten on April 6, where he gave up three runs in four innings. However, in his first battery pairing with Ryusei Terachi, a second-year high school graduate, on April 18 against Rakuten, he pitched 5 1/3 runs, closer his first win since coming to Japan. "I'm grateful to Terachi for the excellent communication and thorough discussions he had with me," he said.
In the game against Nippon-Ham on April 25th, he said, "I walked the bases loaded batter in the sixth inning, which put us in walk, but I need to reflect on that. But I managed to get through it somehow, and I think my pitching today went well." He gave up a leadoff home run to Taiki Asama in the first inning, but from the second inning onwards, he kept Home Run hitter zero, and in the sixth inning, with the bases loaded loaded and the score tied at 1-1, he got out of the jam by getting Yuya Gunji to ground out to shortstop, and in the seventh inning immediately after, his batting line-up took the lead and earned him his second win.
He made four consecutive quality starts (6 innings or more within 3 earned runs) starting the same day against Nippon-Ham, but was unable to get a win. After his appearance against Chunichi on June 8, he was 2-3 and ERA 2.14, showing stability, but gradually he was getting hit more and more, and finally he was 3-9 and ERA 3.96 in 22 games and 125 innings pitched.
After pitching as a starter for a year, he reflected, "The schedules in Japan and the United States are different, so I think it was a big experience to be able to learn about the differences.I worked hard and feel like I had a good season."
◆ Sammons will start as a second-string player at the start of the season
Sammons pitched nine innings in three games, including practice and exhibition games, but was unable to make an impression with ERA of 9.00, and began the season with the farm team.
"I started in the second team, but what I do is the same whether I'm in the first team or the second team. I worked hard with the determination to do what I had to do, one day at a time, and I think that's why I was promoted in May."
Regarding his first start since arriving in Japan Rakuten on May 7th, he said, "Of course today's result wasn't what I wanted, but one thing I can say is that I can't pitch well unless I get strike properly.I can't control the game unless I have better control within the zone, and that's something I need to reflect on."He gave runs in two innings, but walked five BB, leaving concerns about his control.
In the Rakuten game on May 15th, which was his second start in Japan, he closer 5 2/3 innings with 2 hit runs and got his first win in Japan. In the Seibu game on May 24th, he was lose pitcher with a score of 4 runs in 5 innings, but he said, "I think the reason is that I am able to take it to a good hitter count and I think I am running straight. I think a good factor is that we are attacking aggressively without running away from ourselves," he said, winning his third consecutive victory since the Hiroshima match on June 10th.
In the first half of the season, he often pitched with an interval between appearances, but after the All-Star season, he pitched six days in a row. 5 and 6 inning were pitched, but he was not able to get a white star after the All-Star season, as he suffered his fourth consecutive loss. Rakuten Rakuten Nevertheless, on September 13, he pitched 6 runs innings for 2 wins and his 5th win, and on September 30, his final appearance of the season, he pitched 6 inning innings for 0 runs wins and 0 closer losses.
This season, he pitched in 16 games and 85 2/3 innings, with a record of 5 wins, 5 losses, and 1 hold, for ERA 3.78.
◆ Guerrero may return after three years
Guerrero, who is returning after a three-year absence, said enthusiastically, "I want you to see how much I've improved since three years ago, and I hope you enjoy it. Please look forward to my fast pitches." This season began in early spring, and he has shown stable pitch.
The highlight was the game Rakuten on April 5th. He took to mound in the ninth inning with the score at 1-0, fastball, six of which were over 160 km/h, and closer out the game with no runs.
"My straight ball is in good shape now, and if I continue in this condition, I'll keep my straight ball in good shape until the end of the season."
He had closer the score at runs in two consecutive games since the match Rakuten on May 5th, but lost against Rakuten on the 13th and runs in three consecutive games since then. He gave up five runs in the match Hanshin Tigers on June 18th, and pitch was noticeably unstable. This season, after a three-year hiatus, he has pitched in 21 games, with one win, three losses, five hold, and one ERA 6.41.
Boss, Sammons, and Guerrero all had periods where they were able to closer consistently, but they were unable to perform well throughout the season.
Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita
