Lotte's Hayato Miyazaki made his first appearance on the mound in a practice game against DeNA on the 14th, marking his first appearance in a real game since joining the team.

Hayato Miyazaki took the mound in the 9th inning, 9-2, and got the first batter, Kyo-right Mashiko, to ground out on the third fastball pitch from 2 pitches, and the next batter, Atsushi Katsumata, to ground out on the first fastball pitch for the second out with only 4 pitches. Asayo Miyashita also got a fly out to right on the third cutter pitch from 1 ball 1 strike, and the three of them closed out the game without any danger.

It was his first real game appearance since the transfer, and finishing with a clean 0 should have been a good impression.

◆ Weapon is fastball

Hayato Miyazaki played for Softbank Hawks last season, appearing in two games for the first team and closer a 0.00 ERA. He also pitched in 31 games and 35 inning in the farm league, recording 38 strike out than the number of inning pitched) and a 2.57 ERA. However, Softbank Hawks boasts a deep roster, having won the league championship twice in a row. After the season, he was released and joined Lotte as a registered player.

At his signing press conference on December 10th last year, he donned the pinstripe uniform with strong determination, saying, "I wasn't able to achieve results on the first-team stage when I was with The Hawks, so my strongest feeling is that I want to make up for it with Lotte. I want to become pitcher who can contribute to the team's strength and win. From now on, I will work hard and do my best for the team."

He will start spring training with the first team in his new environment. At the Miyakonojo spring training camp, he said, "I think I'm able to put into practice the things I've been trying out since last fall, so I want to continue doing that and make hit impression so that I can be on the first team for opening day. I want to do my best to show the abilities I have." During the live batting practice on the 10th, he threw 21 pitches to Raito Ikeda and Atsuki Tomosugi, closer them to just one hit.

Regarding what he has been trying to do specifically since autumn, he revealed, "I've been working on improving the accuracy of breaking ball and fastballs since I was with The Hawks continued working on it, including during the off-season, and it feels good, so I'm continuing to do it."

Miyazaki's strength is fastball. "My goal is to throw fastball that batters can't hit forward. I want to keep perfecting my fastball so that even if they know it's coming, they can't hit it."

Regarding breaking ball explained, "How do I make breaking ball look in order to make the most of my fastball? And on top of that, how do I make my fastball look? This is a way to make the most of my fastball, which is my biggest selling point, so if I can improve the accuracy of breaking ball, I think my fastball will shine."

As he prepared for the practice games and exhibition games, he said, "I want to become pitcher that people can trust in important situations. I want to work hard to be able to come back with a clean sheet no matter what the situation, and I want to play to my strengths." In his first appearance on the mound since the transfer, closer pitched a runs. There's still a month and a half left until the season starts on March 27th. If he continues to closer a spot on the opening day first team awaits.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita