"I do want to pitch (with the first team from the opening game), but I have a clear goal in mind, which is my first win, so although I do want to pitch (with the first team from the opening game), I also want to take things step by step in order to get my first win."

Lotte's Kimura Yuto Kimura, in his second year as a professional, set a goal of getting his first professional win during the spring training camp in Ishigaki Island, and achieved his first professional win in a game against Softbank on March 30th.

Kimura entered the game in the seventh inning of a 4-4 tie against Softbank on the same day, and struck out the leadoff Hotaka Yamakawa on a 1-ball, 2-strike pitch with a 116 kph curveball on the fourth pitch of the game, struck out then struck out the next Tomoya Masaki on three grounders and finally got a Kenta Imamiya on a fly out to center field.

Immediately after that, the batting line took the lead in the top of the eighth inning, and added more points in the ninth inning.The relief pitchers managed to hold on to the lead, and Kimura earned his first exciting professional win.

Kimura, who achieved his goal of getting his first professional win early in the season, reflected, "To be honest, I didn't think I could do it, but as I was pitching, the fielder scored points and I ended up winning. I feel like I was lucky, and I was able to pitch the way I wanted to on my first appearance on the mound, so I think that gave me confidence."

Kimura was at the Ishigakijima spring training camp, but later joined the Miyakonojo training camp. Nevertheless, he pitched in the exhibition games against DeNA on March 4th and Nippon-Ham on March 12th. Did Kimura feel that fastball he had been honing since the offseason worked when he faced off against the first-string hitter in the exhibition games and regular season?

"I had a few strikeouts and missed pitches, so I could feel the impact, but more than that, breaking ball came into play, and it felt like my fastball was effective. I think I've grown a little as I've continued pitching."

Looking back at the Red vs. White game held on February 11th, he was impressed with fastball he threw to struck out out Yudai Fujioka with one ball and two strike, saying after the game, "I think that ball was very relaxed and went in well."

I wonder if missing Fujioka at fastball and finishing him off at struck out was one of the reasons he gained confidence.

"That struck out gave me a bit of confidence, or rather, it was because of that struck out that I was able to swing my arm with all my might and throw the ball to the end. I can kind of feel that now."

In his first appearance on the mound for the first team on March 30th against Softbank, with the score at 4-4 and one out and no runner on base in the seventh inning, he threw to Masaki with one ball and one strike His third straight fastball was a ball, but he recorded a speed of 152 km/h, his fastest yet, saying, "152 km/h is my max since I turned pro."

Regarding breaking ball, he said, "The straight ball comes to life because my arm swing is good for breaking ball, and the momentum of the straight ball is good because breaking ball comes to life. Either would be best, but if breaking ball is good, the straight ball will also come to life. I would like to be able to throw with a good balance."

With his first professional appearance and first win under his belt, he hopes to gain experience in the first team and become a regular. Regarding what is necessary to become a regular in the first team, Kimura stated, "There are many things I need to do, such as getting the stamina to pitch and getting used to the environment, but since I've been working on my physique, I don't want to lower my performance, but rather I want to review my physique once again to improve it."

When asked what he is conscious of in building his physique, he revealed, "I've gotten as far as my weight can go, so I'm working on how to use my body, my coordination, and the inside of my body."

Having achieved his goal of winning his first professional win, when asked about his next goal he replied enthusiastically, "I think I'll be given more opportunities to pitch from now on, so I'd like to closer inning at zero for the innings I'm assigned to. I think my next appearance after my first will be important, so I want to keep swinging my arm without being satisfied."

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita