Rakuten Eagles pitcher Naoto Nishiguchi took the mound for the first time in a live BP game at the Ginowan camp in Okinawa on the 10th.

Nishiguchi overcame Tommy John surgery and returned to the regular roster from the development team in February of last year. Last season, he pitched in 52 games as a relief pitcher and recorded 31 hold. This season, he announced his intention to try to become a starter. During training camp, he has been working on his starting pitching skills, including pitching with a windup motion.

In his first live BP match against hitter, the right-hander, in his 10th year as a pro, was hit by a ball in his left leg and had to leave the game, but it was not a serious injury and he commented that he was doing "okay." He pointed out his challenge, saying, "Even though I thought I was putting in a lot of effort, my pitch speed was only around 144 km/h, so I'd like to be able to increase it a little more in the game."