◆Nippon Life Interleague Series 2026: Hiroshima vs. Nippon-Ham (June 16th, Mazda Stadium)

Nippon-Ham Fighters pitcher Kota Tatsu (22) has been added to the first team roster. This season, he was in the starting rotation at the beginning of the season, but failed to produce results, going 2-6 with ERA of 4.06 in 9 games, and was removed from the roster on May 30th. He adjusted as reliever in the minor leagues, making 3 relief appearances with ERA of 0.00. He will restart his career as reliever.

Manager Shinjo spoke to reporters before the game, explaining, "It's important for Tatsu-kun to gain experience as reliever pitcher and to keep practicing, so it's good for him to get a variety of experiences at this time. If he throws some amazing pitches, that feeling will probably stick in his head when he returns to being a starter, so I hope he can grasp that feeling. He's kind of like a second Moinelo. What will happen if he throws pitches like (The Giants') Oose-kun? There are no other positions for him to pitch in right now. Starting positions. Everything is packed."

Regarding how he will be used, he said, "He'll be in important situations. If we let him pitch in unimportant situations, he won't grow. I'd also like to let him pitch closer once. When he was a starter, he didn't give up that many runs in the first, second, and third innings. The cursed seventh inning (laughs). So it means we can let him pitch twice." He envisioned using him in high-leverage situations and expressed his hopes for the young ace candidate's growth.