Lotte's Shunsuke Nakamori was promoted to the first team for the first time this season on May 4th, and so far has pitched in 11 games and 11 innings, recording 1 win, 5 hold, 1 save, 10 strike out, and ERA of 0.00, showing consistent pitch.

In an interview on May 29th, he commented on pitch since being promoted, saying, "My fastball hasn't been very good up until now, so I've had some difficulty with how to construct my pitches compared to last year. I finally started to get the hang of my fork in the game against Hiroshima on the 28th, and my control is also coming together, so I think I'm almost there." It seems he believes his condition is improving.

In the game against Hiroshima on May 28th, he pitched on consecutive days for the first time this season, including both the first and second teams. He threw 14 pitches in one inning, allowing no hit, strike out two, BB runs, so pitch itself was not problematic.

"Physically, I felt better on the second day of consecutive appearances, and my body felt more toned. So, I want to make sure I don't let the accumulated fatigue from continuing to pitch back-to-back accumulate. I want to recover properly from scratch."

◆ pitch surface

On the pitch side, last season he often used fork after driving in to finish the pitch, but this season he has a high percentage of slider. In an interview on May 14, he explained why the pitch ratio of slider is higher than fork, saying, "I start using good ones and keep using them reliever, so it's the first inning, and I don't think about a second round. When I think about the batter in front of me, I just throw the good stuff one after another."

In particular, his performance in the game against Hiroshima on May 28th, where he was leading 4-3 in the 8th inning and got Montero, the leadoff batter, in fastball, then struck him out swinging with a 135 km/h fork that dropped from strike zone into the ball zone on the struck out pitch, was excellent.

Nakamori threw a fork that satisfied him, saying, "That was great. I finally felt like I was hooked." In the game against Hiroshima that day, with two outs and no runner in the 8th inning with a 4-3 score, he retired Shunyoshi Noma on the eighth pitch, swinging struck out fork in the 136 km/h strike zone from 2 balls 2 strike, but when asked if he intentionally threw into the strike zone to get struck out, he replied, "I wanted to throw that into the ball zone, He stayed in the zone, so it was a dangerous pitch, but because he was swinging his arm, I think he was able to clear the swing and miss due to the depth and the difference in pitch," he reflected.

Nakamori says, "It feels like I had no choice but to use fork because I hadn't been able to use it until now," but the slider with a higher proportion of pitch remains good. On May 22, in the Rakuten Eagles game where he pitched in the eighth inning (2-1), his first win of the season, he retired the leadoff Naoki Sato in the 8th inning with a 2-1 lead, swinging struck out from 1 ball, 2 strike, and dropped the slider to the 130 km/h vertical on the fourth pitch. While saying, "I wanted to bend that to the side," he explained, "I'm glad he went into a good zone."

pitch Regarding fastball, which is the most important part of the process, he said, "Last year, we were able to produce an average of about 150. If that happens, we can straighten up count, and in parallel, breaking ball will also improve," he continued, "Basically, we would like to work on improving and returning to the straight line.

I imagine that as fastball improves, struck out will increase even more.

"It would be great if we could get it, but first we're focusing on closer."

With Nakamori back in the first team, the number of pitcher pitched in winning games increased by one. In the 7th and 8th innings of winning games, and in the Orix Buffaloes game on May 17, closer Rikuto Yokoyama was pitching three consecutive games, so he pitched in the 9th inning with a 3-2 lead and recorded his first save of the season. It's very encouraging to be able to maintain his pitch in any inning.

"First and foremost, I want to avoid injuries, and while carefully monitoring my own body and with the help of my trainers, I want to prepare myself to do my best." As can be seen from pitch in the first half of last season, if he stays injury-free, he has top-class ability in the league. We hope he can run through the rest of the season without injury and with consistent pitch.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita