Nippon-Ham pitcher Shoma Kanemura (24) spoke on the 8th about his strong determination for the start against Rakuten on the 9th (ESCON). In his 5 starts this season, he has already pitched 2 shutout game and 2 games with 5 runs allowed, and he analyzed that "I'm the one in the worst condition (in the rotation)." With only 11 days between starts, he has been desperately working on corrections. With the starting lineup in top form, he is aware of the possibility of being dropped from the rotation if he doesn't perform well, and he takes to mound with determination.
Kanemura took mound at the open-roofed ESCON. He threw five powerful pitches, then had Kitayama step up to bat at the end, and while receiving advice, he also fine-tuned plate position. The game Rakuten (ESCON) will be held on the 9th, 11 days after the previous game. He tried to recover, but said, "I was in bad shape, so I tried a lot of things. I changed the position where I stepped on plate, and I was conscious of swinging vertically. I was conscious of a lot of things."
He has already 2 shutout game this season, including the season opener shutout game but 5 runs hasn't made waves twice either: on April 27 against Lotte (ESCON), he suffered his second loss of the season in 6 innings 9 hit 5 runs and was removed from the roster to allow for spacing as planned. During Golden Week, he went 6-4-1 in 11 games and made two saves. Except for himself, all of the 10 pitcher starters, including Tatsu, who was making his first start of the season, were 2 runs or less. I think I'm the one who is in the worst shape. I think it could go down at any time, and I have to work on it from practice with a sense of crisis. The next match is important," he said with determination.
He spent 11 days desperately trying to make corrections. "I was able to catch the ball properly in places where I would normally get a foul," he said, noticing something was off. The problem he was told was how easy it was to see the ball. Because it was easy to see, it was easy for the batter to time it. Kanemura's characteristic is that it is difficult to see where the ball is coming from, and it feels like the ball is coming suddenly. "It's something I didn't notice when I was going through the rotation. I've been working hard to fix that during this period," he said, nodding.
The results of the adjustments will be shown against the Rakuten batting line, which will be facing them for the first time this season. Kanemura, who boasts a league-leading 30 stolen base so far, said, "They're using their feet and have long hits, so I feel like we can score from anywhere. We need to be conscious of not letting the leadoff hitter get out on the mound." With his third great pitch this season, he will ride the momentum created by the strong starting pitchers.
(Yamaguchi Yasushi)
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