Nippon-Ham Fighters pitcher Koki Kitayama (27) expressed his determination on the 6th to achieve his eighth consecutive win and a total of nine wins, putting him at the top of Pacific League. The right-hander, who will start against the Chiba Lotte Marines on the 7th (at ZOZO Marine Stadium), made his final adjustments at Escon and flew to Chiba. "There's wind at ZOZO Marine Stadium, and the way batted balls travel changes, so I want to listen carefully to what fielder have to say about the wind and build my pitching during the game accordingly." Currently, his number of win is tied with Softbank Hawks 's Otsu, and his own teammates Ito and Kato Takashi, and he aims to take the top spot alone.

This was his first appearance with ZOZO in a year since the July 8 game against Lotte last season. Last season, he pitched in only one game at the stadium, pitching four runs in six innings. He did not pitch in 2024, and in 2023, he pitched one game on August 3, with five runs in the middle of five innings and a lose pitcher. Regarding the distinctive sea breeze at an away pitch, he said, "I didn't really like it until my second year," suggesting he seems to be struggling in numbers. However, he says, "The pitch form from my first and second years and my pitch composition and current content are almost entirely different things—almost entirely different pitcher. For example, Jingu, who pitched this year, felt really uncomfortable in his first year, but this year I didn't feel that at all. If I have confidence in my efforts and growth, I think there might not be anything to worry about," showing no signs of pessimism at all. He embodies the growth accumulated over five years as a pro through mound.

I’ll also share the results of my research. Ahead of my start against ZOZO, I studied videos of Lotte’s Taneichi—who pitches at home—at pitch. I analyzed pitch, a senior I played with on Samurai Japan, and found that “Taneichi pitcher has fork, and his fastball is really good pitcher.“The footage of him pitching at home pitcher is the most helpful. He’s used to the field, and I think he has a high probability of effectively using the wind, so that’s what I focus on most when watching. I also use Lotte’s pitcher as a reference to see how he closer s.” He himself specializes in breaking balls and, taking a cue from Lotte’s ace, masters mound—pitches known to be affected by wind.

In June, he started four games, complete game one and pitching one shutout game, going 4-0 with no losses. ERA was an astonishing 0.91. Currently on a seven-game winning streak since the game Orix Buffaloes on May 3rd (at Escon), the pitcher wearing number 15 is showing signs of improvement on mound where he suffered a bitter defeat.