On the 17th, Lotte's Ryusei Miyazaki hit a timely hit in a practice game against The Giants, giving him RBI for the second consecutive game.

short stop Miyazaki, who appeared in the 9th inning starting line-up, tied the game with a timely Ko Matsukawa doble, and with one out and two on, he hit slider the outside corner of The Giants Shunya Morita's first pitch short stop and hit a hit pitch in front of the left fielders. Matsukawa, who had made a good decision to start the inning at second base, runner, stole home for the third run.

In the practice game against DeNA on the 14th, where he came in as a substitute, Miyazaki hit a two-run triple, marking his second consecutive game RBI.

◆ fastball correspondence

Miyazaki said, "Even in the farm pitcher, there are pitcher who come in over 150 kilometers, but there was a difference in the same 150 between the first and second teams, so I felt that I needed to have the skill to catch a quality fast straight ball in one shot, not just hit a fast ball," in his first year as a pro last season against the professional pitcher, "I cited my response to the quality fastball pitches thrown by the first army pitcher as an issue.

"I was able to experience the best straight pitch, so I would like to practice while imagining hitting a straight pitch," he said, vowing to overcome his challenges as he entered the off-season.

After a winter, during the Miyakonojo first-team spring training camp, he batted with his right leg raised and the bat held down. Perhaps this was to deal with fast fastball.

"In my case, when the bat head is upright, it has a tendency to lie down, so I try to correct that by laying it down, or rather, making it so that my left elbow can easily get in."

Regarding how he deals with fastball, he revealed during the Miyakonojo spring training camp, "Before, I was good at swinging slower balls and breaking ball. I wanted to swing in a way that would match the trajectory of faster balls, so I'm experimenting with things like using my left elbow and getting the timing quicker. It will be interesting to see how this plays out as I get into actual games."

On defense, he aims to become a regular at second baseman, his main position, but short stop in both of the two practice games he has played so far. During the Miyakonojo spring training camp, he played shortstop, saying, "I feel like I'm moving better than I thought I would. I don't have much short stop experience, so I'm not sure, but rather than being anxious, I'm curious to see how it feels."

In order to win the competition, Miyazaki emphasized, "I think if I can hit, I'll be able to play in the game, so rather than focusing on improving defense skills, I want to make a strong impression with my batting." "First of all, I'll do my best in training camp and exhibition games so that I can make the opening day first starting line-up and start, and I want to do my best so that I can complete the first team season." In his second season this year, he intends to show the difference from last season.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita