Lotte's Andre Jackson recorded 12 strike out in a single game against Rakuten Eagles on April 28th, and has pitched 30 innings so far with 33 strike out, exceeding inning, strike out rate of 9.90.

In his first appearance since transferring to the team, against Nippon-Ham on April 1st, he said, "As the game progresses, the batters get used to me after the first and second rounds of batting, so I think it's necessary to gradually introduce different pitches to show them that I have different kinds of pitches." fastball cutter, and change-up in the first round, and mixed in knuckle curves from the second round onwards, pitching five innings and striking strike out.

In the game against Orix Buffaloes on April 8, he pitched 6 innings and recorded 4 strike out. In the game against Nippon-Ham on April 14, he pitched 7 innings and recorded 8 strike out. In the game Orix Buffaloes on April 21, he pitched 5 1/3 innings and recorded 4 strike out.

And in the Rakuten Eagles game of his last appearance, if he finishes Fumiya Kurokawa with a 1-ball 2 runner strike with 1 ball and 2 in all fastball without a 0-0 first out, and a swing struck out with a 154 kg fastball on the fourth pitch, he will score 1 ball and 2 Hiroto Kobukata in the 3rd inning of 0-0 strike From the 4th pitch in-course 130 km knuckle curve struck out the 4th pitch to the 4th inning Hikaru Ota missed with 3 balls 2 strike to the 6th pitch 138 km struck out change-up to finish with 12 struck out pitches such as fastball, knuckle curve, change-up etc. It was taken away.

Reflecting on his previous pitch on the mound, he said, "I think it was good that I was able to get two strike on the batters and then struck out out with various pitches."

Watching footage from his time with DeNA, he gave the impression of pitching long inning with a low pitch count and accumulating outs through ground balls. Looking at strike out rate, it was 7.62 in 2024 and 6.51 last season. Why has strike out count increased since joining Lotte?

"I think the high quality of the pitches, both in terms of location and type, is what's resulting in the high number of struck out."

Could this be related to the differences between hitter in Pacific League and Central League? Jackson analyzes the differences between Central and Pacific hitter, saying, "Central League players tend to do small things. They might bunt, and they'll be persistent. Pacific League batters, on the other hand, seem to have power and swing hard."

During his time with DeNA, he achieved the required innings pitched for two consecutive years, and this season he has already pitched a team-leading 30 inning. With ace Atsuki Taneichi having ruptured his Achilles tendon, leaving the team without a main starting pitcher, Jackson's role is of great importance.

"We have no choice but to do what we can ourselves, so we intend to unite and fight together for him."

You can take struck out in various pitches, throw long inning, and calculate starter. I want him to continue throwing throughout the season without drilling holes in the rotation, and show his ability to reach the required innings pitched, double-digit win, and strike out to mark the most in Japan.

(Andre Jackson pitcher interpreter = Takafumi Yajima, Chiba Chiba Lotte Marines' interpreter)

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita