◆ "Lugus Samurai Japan Series 2026" Chunichi 3-7 Japan (28th, Vantelin Dome)

Samurai Japan's Koki Kitayama pitcher (26) = Nippon-Ham = took the mound from the 5th inning with a 4-run lead in a send-off game against Chunichi on the 28th, and closed 2 inning with 2 hit runs.

On the 27th, the day before, he was seen chatting on the bench with Shohei Otani pitcher (31) of the Dodgers, a senior member of the Nippon-Ham team. The right-hander, nicknamed "Professor" on Nippon-Ham because of his wealth of knowledge, said, "I was sitting down and Otani-san came to sit next to me. I greeted him by saying, "I'm Kitayama from The Fighters. He shushed me. Otani-san is a person who changes the atmosphere of ground just by being there. I would like to see and feel his atmosphere and influence.