Softbank Hawks Kazuki Sugiyama hitter hit struck out Walk The first hitter four were 2 struck out no hit and the second four were 2 closer and the third four were 2 and the fourth four were 2 .

In bullpen pitch until the day before, even when he threw with all his might, his pitching speed was limited to 143 km/h. However, when he faced hitter, his pitching speed suddenly increased by 10 km/h to a maximum of 153 km/h. "Basically, I don't throw 150 km/h in bullpen, but this was the first time I'd thrown 143 km/h. As expected, things change (in a real game), so I was a little relieved about that. I was really worried," said the right-hander. As for his signature fork with a large drop, "the feeling was good," and his preparation is going smoothly.

Last season, he was given the role of closer midway through the season, and in 65 games he had 3 wins and 4 losses, 31 saves, and ERA of 1.82. He mostly used two pitches, a fastball and fork two seam fastball, but this season he is considering whether to incorporate a second fork with less curvature, or a two-seam fastball. "I'll ask Yamakawa-san and Kondo-san, and if it has the opposite effect, I might not throw it. I'm thinking about various things to get struck out, so if I can't get strikeouts, then (the new pitch) might not be necessary," he said, revealing his intention to take hitter perspective into consideration.