◆Exhibition game: Nippon-Ham vs. DeNA (17th, ES CON FIELD)

Nippon-Ham pitcher Shoma Kanemura started the game but gave up 7 hit 4 runs in 5 innings. "I think I was able to throw the ball well to the corners, so I want to continue to be conscious of that. As for the power of my fastball, those kinds of things haven't improved yet," he reflected.

It was a tough result in the competition for the opening day rotation, but the ace's appearance was encouraging. Hiromi Ito pitcher who was participating in the WBC with Samurai Japan, joined the team on this day. The team's first game of the season was against Venezuela in the quarterfinals, and they were slandered on social networking sites. I felt I couldn't be depressed at all," he said.

Regarding the return of his mentor, with whom he also trains independently, he said, "Above all, I'm glad he's healthy, and I thought it was cool to see him pitching on a stage like that, so I'm glad he's come back with his head held high."