On the 22nd, Nippon-Ham drew 1-1 against Yakult in their final preseason game (at Escon Stadium). This puts them level with The Giants in winning percentage and a tie for the preseason championship. Starting pitcher Kohei Arihara (33) pitched four innings, allowing only one hit and no runs, strike out five, a nearly perfect performance. Also, pitcher Koki Kitayama (26), who returned from the Samurai Japan national team and pitched as the second reliever, pitched 3 1/3 innings, runs four hit and one strike out six. With these additions, the six-man opening day rotation, including Ito, Tatsuya, Takashi Kato, and Hosono, is now set.

Despite some issues, the fact that he took mound for a fourth inning was a positive takeaway. Kitayama, returning from the WBC, pitched 3 1/3 innings, allowing 4 hit and 1 runs, strike out 6. "Overall, I didn't have any major problems, but the number of pitches I threw increased, so I need to improve the precision of each and every pitch," he reflected.

The problem was clear in the numbers. mound The first time I saw him, he was a little bit more than a year old, runs, but he was a good kid. inning The fourth inning pitch was a voluntary pitch, and it was important for me to experience the inning pitching that straddles the line, which I hadn't seen in the WBC, even if it was only once.

Manager Shinjo said, "I think he understands what he's feeling, and there's absolutely no problem." Kitayama added, "He's been training hard, and I'm confident that if he can get his balance right and do what he needs to do properly, he'll definitely get better." Having overcome difficult adjustments, he's set to be a part of the starting rotation from the opening day.