◆Pre-season Rakuten Eagles 1-2 Nippon-Ham (12th, Shizuoka)

Nippon-Ham pitcher Takumi Yamamoto (26) overcame his hay fever with a "sunscreen strategy." He pitched in the ninth inning with the score at 2-1, and closed the game with one hit and no runs.

The right-handed pitcher, who has suffered from hay fever and rhinitis since elementary school, began wearing a mask during pre-game practice. He had been using a nonwoven mask the day before, but on this day he changed to a more breathable mask and was able to play catch without any problems while wearing the mask, taking precautions against pollen. He also said, "It's similar to Vaseline, but sunscreen is a bit sticky, so applying it to your face can make it better." He carefully applied sunscreen, which is said to create a film on the surface of the skin and prevent pollen from directly adhering to the skin, taking all possible precautions.

Even so, "Today, towards the end, I was sneezing and it was dangerous. If you exceed your tolerance level (of pollen), you'll be in for a bad experience in about three days, so I wonder if the measures I took this time worked, or if I'll have an emergency tomorrow or the morning after. This morning, I sneezed about five times, so I still need to take more precautions (laughs)," and she plans to remain vigilant and continue to come up with measures.

On this day, he threw a fastball with a maximum speed of 150 km/h, cutter, and sinker, striking out the batter with just seven pitches. "I've been pitching carefully up until now, but with the opening game approaching, I thought I'd try to work on it little by little so that no matter how much power I put out there, there won't be any deviation. I think I was able to throw the ball exactly where I intended it," he said, progressing smoothly. The No. 67 pitcher, who has set a goal of 50 appearances, overcame the pollen and secured a spot on the opening day first team.