Lotte's Haruya Tanaka has pitched 38 innings across 6 games since being promoted again in August, recording 1 win, 0 losses, 43 strike outs, 9 BB, and a 3.08 ERA. He has shown stable pitch performance, achieving a Quality Start (6 or more innings with 3 or fewer earned runs) in 5 out of the 6 games.

Since his promotion, his fastball has been outstanding. In his previous appearance against the Seibu Lions on September 25, he threw excellent pitches to both the inside and outside corners against both right-handed hitters and left-handed hitters. Examples include the second pitch, a 148 km/h inside fastball that got a swinging strike against the leadoff hitter Seiya Watanabe in the second inning with the score 0-0 and a 1-strike count; the third pitch, a 148 km/h inside fastball for a called strike against Takuya Hiruma with one out and no runner in the second inning at 0-0 and a 1-1 count; and the second pitch, a 149 km/h inside fastball for a called strike against Kazunari Ishii with one out and no runner in the fifth inning at 0-0 and a 1-strike count.

I think I've been improving lately since being called up to the first team, and since that was an issue when I was sent down to the minors, I feel like I'm handling it well now.

His weapon, the fork, is performing exceptionally well, whether it is the 134 km/h fork on the fifth pitch that dropped beautifully from the strike zone to the ball zone to get YG Yasuda swinging for a struck out on a 1-2 count leading off the 7th inning of the 2-1 game against the Rakuten Eagles on September 8, or the 136 km/h sinker-like fork on the inside corner that got Canario swinging for a struck out on a two-strike count with one out and no runner in the 3rd inning of a 0-0 game against the Seibu Lions on September 25, showing his ability to drop the fork from the strike zone to the ball zone and to drop it like a sinker against a right-handed hitter.

Of course, things are improving, and my fastball is getting better. I think the fact that I'm throwing my fastball one ball lower than in the first half of the season is helping with the pitch tunnel and making my fork more effective.

In the game against the Softbank Hawks on August 13, with a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning, the leadoff batter Yudai Yamamoto was struck out looking on a 150 km/h outside fastball on the third pitch after two strikes. While he had been finishing batters off with forks after getting ahead early in the game, he caught the opponent off guard with that strikeout; then, in the fifth inning with two outs and runners on first and second and a 3-2 lead, he got Yudai Yamamoto to swing and miss for a struck out on a 137 km/h inside sinker-like fork with a 1-2 count.

I think the most important thing is that the balls I'm throwing are getting better. Within that, I'm focusing on creating a favorable count and always valuing a three-pitch battle, so I think the best part is being able to go on the offensive before my opponent does.

While getting struck out with his fork, in the September 15th game against Nippon-Ham, he faced leadoff hitter Chusei Mannami in the 4th inning with the score 0-2; after Mannami fouled off two fastballs and one slider, he struck him out swinging by throwing a 135 km/h fork on the fourth pitch to disrupt his timing. Similarly, in his previous start against the Seibu Lions, with two outs and no runner on in the first inning of a 0-0 game, he caught Taiga Kojima looking with a surprise 128 km/h slider on the first pitch, then induced a swing and miss on the second pitch by throwing a 136 km/h fork in the zone to throw off his timing.

I think the big thing is that I have the pitches, and I'm really going for a three-pitch battle, or rather, I'm able to throw into the tight zones effectively on my own count.

Since being promoted, his pitch tempo has improved significantly. "I've been conscious of it since my time in the minors, and even now I'm gradually becoming able to throw within my own rhythm. I think it's a good point, and something I need to continue doing."

During the two months from being removed from the first-team roster on June 14 until being promoted again on August 13, observing his practice in the farm team, he appeared to be facing himself with a sense of responsibility, doing things like playing catch and checking details with the bullpen catcher before team practice, and playing catch and running with the bullpen catcher after team practice.

Honestly, in terms of my mindset, I have so much to do, and with so many things I need to accomplish, I felt I couldn't afford to waste any time. I wanted to get back to the first team as quickly as possible, even by a single day. I wanted to be called up in a state that I was satisfied with—in a different form than how I was during the first half of the season. When I thought about that, there were so many things I had to do each and every day. I wasn't thinking about anything other than thoroughly doing what needed to be done.

Looking at his farm team appearances, I got the impression that he was pitching with specific themes in mind: in the game against Nippon-Ham's second team on June 28, 13 out of 16 pitches in his first inning (the 5th) were fastballs; in the game against The Giants' second team on July 19, there were many fastballs to the inside corner against right-handed hitters; and in the game against Yakult's second team on August 2, there were many fastballs to the inside corner against left-handed hitters.

Regarding the rhythm and ensuring I throw my own fastball properly, there were some mechanical issues in the first half of the season. I have been practicing constantly with Mima-san, focusing on the theme of achieving a good release point.

Since returning to the first team, he has maintained stable pitch performances. 'My rhythm and fastball have improved, and I've been able to try my slider and inside pitches against right-handed hitters, where my Avg was high. I believe I'm expressing my pitching style with every outing, so it's important to maintain that. Since it's a team sport, I want to continue pitching with good rhythm and improve the precision of each pitch during the game.' Haruya Tanaka has been entrusted with the start in the game featuring Katsuya Kakunaka's retirement ceremony. He aims to lead the team to a win with his rhythmic pitch style.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita