◆ Mr. Oya: "Sato's hitting is too good to pass up." Will he win the starting catcher position with his hitting?

On the 28th, Lotte win Rakuten Eagles 3-1. They took the lead in the 5th inning with a timely hit by Toshiya Sato.

In his ninth start behind the plate this season, Sato delivered a go-ahead hit for the second consecutive game. On the Fuji TV ONE program "Pro baseball News 2026" aired on the 28th, MC Mitsuru Manaka pointed out, "Last year, Ryusei Terachi played in over 70 games as catcher, but now it's a competition between Sato and Ko Matsukawa." Commentator Akihiko Oya analyzed, "With teams having to make do with the people they have, it's become very important for catcher to be able to hit as well. Sato's batting is hard to ignore."

Another commentator, Kenichi Tanizawa, praised him, saying, "He has a lot of extra-base hits. He's not quite at .200 yet (his batting average is .184), but he has hit two Home Run runs and driven RBI." Manaka then expressed his expectations, saying, "He needs to solidify his position as starting catcher from here on out."

☆ Cooperation: Fuji TV ONE "Professional baseball News 2026"