Lotte finished the interleague series in 5th place out of 12 teams with a record of 10 wins, 6 losses, and 2 ties, and will return to the regular season. Misho Nishikawa boasts the second-highest batting average in the league at .302, Toshiya Sato Toshiya has become a reliable presence both offensively and defensively, and the "middle infield" of Ryusei Ogawa and Atsuki Tomosugi has grown into key players, contributing to the team not only with their impenetrable defense but also with their batting. In pitcher staff, Jackson is the mainstay of the rotation as a starter, Kazuya Ojima is showing signs of recovery, and in the relief pitching staff, closer Rikuto Yokoyama leads the league with 22 saves, Shota Suzuki, who pitches the 8th inning in winning games, is tied for the league lead with 20 hold points, and Shunsuke Nakamori, Keisuke Sawada, Akira Yagi and Fumiya Ono are also performing well. The growth of young and mid-career players is particularly noticeable.
In a long pennant race, the strength of veterans becomes essential. In the relief pitching staff, Naoya Masuda is a prime example. Masuda, who has supported The Marines 'bullpen for many years, has been taking mound in situations with large lead lags since the start of the season, silently fulfilling his role.
In the Chunichi game on June 10, with the score at 3-11, he reached mound in the 8th inning, and after allowing Kojo Ukai, who had gone 3-hit that day, to fastball to get the leadoff hitter to struck out, he then flied out to left with a fastball of Kaito Muramatsu, and finally got Yutaro Itayama out swinging and struck out. In the ninth inning, which was a inning stepping along, he gave Walk to leadoff pinch hitter Hiroki Fukunaga, but Hanada Akira flied out to three out of the sand, Koya Ishikawa flew to right, and pinch hitter Taisei Ajiya grounded out to second, closer the second inning with no runs.
This season, Masuda's pitch tempo seems faster than in previous years. When asked about this, Masuda himself said, "I look at the situation and try not to slow down," and explained, "If it's long when we're losing, it's not good, so I try to speed up the tempo as much as possible."
◆ catch with Suzuki during pre-game practice
Masuda has made significant changes to his training regimen this season, including seriously incorporating weight training. Even after the season started, while he used to only do catch practice before games when there was a gap between his appearances last season, he said, "This year there are many days when there is a gap between my appearances, so I thought I'd try doing catch practice consistently this year," and he has been doing catch practice before games without fail this season.
The person he's playing catch with is Suzuki. When asked why Masuda and Suzuki started playing catch together, Masuda revealed, "There's no particularly deep reason, but we play catch with (Suzuki) Shota." Suzuki added, "At first, it was just a matter of me asking Masuda to play with me, but now we're both conscious of each other's things, and since he's very experienced, I'm learning a lot from him."
Suzuki said, "When you observe people, it's easy to notice various changes, and in Masuda's case in particular, he gives clear answers when you ask him questions, so I think the time we spend catch is important." It is an important time for him to perform well in games.
Meanwhile, Masuda revealed, "It's my own adjustment, but I can get an idea of what my opponent is like by looking at them, so I try to say something if I notice anything."
Even during games, he talks to the younger pitcher in bullpen, explaining things like "what I think will happen in this situation, and why," sharing his accumulated experience regarding the flow of the game and his way of thinking.
The crucial summer season is just around the corner as they aim for the league championship. With few young and veteran bullpen pitchers who have pitched throughout the season, Masuda's presence is likely to become important in terms of pitch. "I think the most important thing is to do what I can to help the team win wherever I'm given the opportunity, so I'll prepare thoroughly and try to communicate well with everyone." He'll be throwing his arms out for the team again today.
Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita
