"The year I pitched in 50 games was a crucial year, so I went full throttle from January onwards, and considering I was also selected for the Samurai team, it was overkill. But I was really very anxious when the season started this year. I was able to pitch in the first half, but I couldn't last in the second half, which was not just because of the condition of my shoulder, but also because of my own lack of ability. In terms of both technique and my body, there are still many areas where I need to improve."

Lotte's Shota Suzuki has had a disappointing season this year.

Last season, Suzuki trained independently with Yuki Matsui (Padres), learning everything about baseball, including how to use his body, how to think about baseball, and nutrition. He pitched in 51 games, including 27 consecutive games from the start of the season where closer no earned runs, and showed outstanding consistency with a record of 2 wins, 2 losses, 27 hold, 5 ERA of 0.73. After the season ended, he was selected to represent Japan in the 3rd WBSC Premier12, presented by LUXAS, making it a breakthrough year for him.

In 2025, just like last season, he conducted voluntary training with Matsui and others, and said, "I did some new things, and I feel like there's more and more to do," continuing what he learned last year while also learning new things.

On February 26th, he made his first appearance in an external game, in a practice match against Orix, and he said, "The zero only means the result, so first of all, it's about the content. There were good and bad things, and I think I've been able to do what I wanted to do from the training camp onwards, so I'm looking forward to putting that to good use at the start of the season. There will be good and bad times, but I want to contribute to the team throughout the year." He pitched seven inning in seven practice and exhibition games, not closer runs, and was ready for the opening game of the season.

In his first appearance of the season on March 28th against Softbank, he took mound in the seventh inning with hold at 7-1 and no runs allowed, closer with power, 8 of his 10 pitches being fastball, and then in the ninth inning against Softbank on March 30th with the score at 7-4, he recorded his first save of the season.

runs his first run in his fourth appearance of the season against Softbank on April 11th, then no runs in his next appearance against Nippon-Ham on April 16th, runs against Rakuten on April 18th, and no runs in his next appearance Seibu on April 22nd. "It's important not to make any mistakes in succession, so I'll be careful about that," he said, and in his next appearance after runs a run, he put a solid "0" on the scoreboard, as expected.

In early spring, the first team was often made up of mostly young pitcher, with veteran players in their 30s such as Naoya Masuda, Hirokazu Sawamura, and Yuki Kuniyoshi absent.

"What we do hasn't changed, and the fact that we don't have any veterans here means that the things I usually rely on are more evident, but we can't keep relying on them forever, so I hope that I can take on that role," he said reassuringly.

mound On May 27, against Orix, Suzuki's name was called from the field when pitcher came on in the 9th inning, 6-0, and lost three runs on four consecutive hits with no outs. 6-0 in the 9th inning, it was hard to assume that pitcher of closer would come on. In addition, with the momentum Orix building, it was a difficult situation for Suzuki, but he never lost heart, saying, "I didn't want to be late getting into the game, so I just prepared myself.

"Orix was on the offensive, and The Marines were down 6-3 when I came on, so I was focused on holding them closer one by one and winning."

In this situation, was there any thought that the first thing to do was to get the first hitter closer?

"It was the first hitter, or rather, the score was down by three points. We were OK with up to two points, so letting runner accumulate was the worst possible situation. I just wanted to keep throwing strike and get them out."

After getting the first hitter and Yuma Tongu to ground out to third, the next Tomoya Mori was brought in to left field to put runners at first and third. Yutaro Sugimoto After getting a run back with a single to right sacrifice fly, he finally got Keita Nakagawa to ground out to 3 balls 2 strike to an in-course fastball, a course Suzuki is good at, and missed struck out to close out the game.

"I kept attacking the outside. At the end, I threw the ball I was most confident in, and if it was fouled, I thought I'd think about it later, so I just went ahead and threw that one ball."

He put out the fire brilliantly, but in the Nippon-Ham game on May 31st, he took the mound in the ninth inning of 3-1 but lost 3 runs and lost walk-off, and in the Chunichi game on June 7th, he lost 3 runs in the ninth inning of 3-1 and suffered a walk-off loss pitch. Still, from the Hiroshima match on June 11th to the Nippon-Ham match on July 8th, they have not runs in 10 consecutive games.

Especially pitch was great in the June 22 game against DeNA. 10-9 in the top of the 8th inning, Lotte's offense fell on three consecutive three struck out pitches in front of Wick, and in the bottom of the inning, DeNA's offense batting order came from No. 1, Takateru Tokai.

With the tide seemingly tilting in DeNA's favor, Suzuki went up to mound and said, "We still have the upper hand, so no matter what the tide is like, I'm still going to get three outs. I didn't think too much about anything else, I just pitched with the intention of fighting one by one," said Suzuki, who missed the lead-off pitcher, Tokai, with a 2-ball 2 strike to fastball and then hit the lead-off pitcher, hitter, with a struck out. Shion Matsuo followed with a two fly ball on the fourth two seam fastball pitch from 2 balls 1 strike, and finally Keita Sano with a two-out single on the fourth slider pitch from 1 ball 2 strike, putting away the DeNA attack starting from the first with three men.

It seemed like he was showing signs of recovery, but runs in two consecutive games, against Seibu on July 11th and Orix on July 18th, and after that day's appearance he did not pitch in the first team again.

"I've been to many different places and tried many different things, and through that I've been able to see for myself what would improve me," he said. "I couldn't have done that on my own, and I'm only able to do it this way thanks to the help of my trainers, so if I continue to communicate and study next year and think about how to get to know my body and perform well, I think my lifestyle will improve over the year and my approach to baseball will also improve. I've been doing that this year as well, and I want to continue doing it."

He made his return to action in the Miyazaki Phoenix League against Yakult on October 26th, closer one scoreless runs. "It would be best if I pitched well and the team won. If you look at the strong teams in Pacific League, the winning teams have a solid defense, so I know that for Lotte to win, our defense has to be solid. If we keep that in mind and always closer, I think we'll see results." Suzuki is fired up to make a comeback next season.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita