Lotte's new foreign player, Long, gave runs a run due to his own error in his first appearance in Japan against Seibu Lions on March 27, but so far he has pitched 4 innings in 4 games, recording 2 hold and ERA of 0.00, showing consistent pitch.

On April 1 against Nippon-Ham (ES CON FIELD), he came on in the bottom of the 7th inning right after a scoreless 4-2 7th inning with two outs bases loaded and pitched brilliantly, striking out three and not letting closer the opponent get into the game.

About pitch that day, Long said, "I thought it was all about pitching myself well even then. I just did my best to do what I had to do to earn the trust of the team," he recalled.

Starting with Nippon-Ham games in a day, he often throws curveballs in right-handed hitter. Looking at the pitch percentage, it is the second most thrown pitch after fastball. Is the curve the most confident pitch in the breaking ball?

"I definitely consider the curveball to be one of my weapons. I think it's important for me to use it to disrupt hitter 's timing, for example, by throwing fastball to throw off their timing. The curveball is a strong weapon for me."

◆ Appearing on the mound in a winning game

He has pitched in the 7th inning of four games so far, two of which were winning games. When asked what he focuses on when pitching in a winning game, he revealed, "Basically, I don't think about the score, I just concentrate on my pitch, closer sure to closer the score at zero, and get hitter out."

When pitching in relief, does he have a well-established routine?

"I've been getting good information from the team, so basically, no matter the situation, I stick to my usual routine for the first three innings, and then I often change my behavior depending on the game situation."

The team is currently at the bottom of the standings with a 4-7 record, and the relief pitching staff is in dire straits. Long has allowed zero earned runs in the four games so far, but in order for the team to win, he needs to keep putting up as many zeros on the scoreboard as possible going forward.

"I just do my pitch as usual, and I think the most important thing is to be trusted, so I will continue to do my best to earn their trust. As a good example, we will throw in difficult situations in the Softbank Hawks game on the 3rd, but I want to do my best to create a flow for the team with a closer."

(Sam Long pitcher Interpreter= Chiba Lotte Marines ・Jumpei Murata Interpreter)

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita