◆ Saito: "He throws with confidence in his pitches and trusts hitter."

On the 21st, the Lotte Marines defeated the win 7–4 at Rakuten Eagles. After being tied in the top of the 8th inning, with two outs and a runner on second bases loaded, the third pitcher, Akira Yagi, took the mound. He induced a groundout to shortstop from pinch hitter Daichi Suzuki, and in the very next at-bat, Koki Yamaguchi hit a two-run Home Run to put his team back in the lead.

Regarding Yagi's seventh win with just two pitches, Tsutomu Iwamoto, MC of Fuji TV ONE's 'Pro baseball News 2026' broadcast on the 21st, said, "He has a winning pitcher. He has an incredible luck," to which commentator Akio Saito commented, "The most wins in Pacific League right now is Nippon-Ham Hiromi Ito with 8 wins, just one win away from tying. Even if the innings pitched number of relief pitcher is not enough, he can win the most wins title like Akimitsu Ito in Yakult, so if he continues to pitch and provides good support to the lineup, I feel opportunities will arise."

Furthermore, when Saito commented, "Watching pitch, it looks like he's throwing with confidence in his pitches and trusting hitter," another commentator, Kenichi Tanizawa, added, "hitter are being overwhelmed by his momentum."

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