Lotte's Raito Okumura made his regular season debut on May 10th against the Giants' The Giants league team, and so far has pitched 4 innings in 4 games, hit strike out BB, and with ERA of 2.25.

In his first appearance on May 10 against The Giants league team, he took mound in the 6th inning with the score tied 3-3. He fastball out the leadoff batter, Shinnosuke Yamase, struck out with a 120 km/h change-up on the fourth pitch after getting two strike. He then gave up Walk to Takuya Kori and walked Dai Yuasa after a 10-pitch battle, but retired Ryusei Mitsuka with slider on the second pitch after one strike, resulting in a double play against him. In his first regular season appearance, he pitched 1 inning, threw 18 pitches, hit 1 hit, strike out 1, BB closer no runs.

"I think I was able to take the first step, and I'm glad that I was able to get this far without any major injuries," he reflected, and regarding breaking ball he threw that day, he said, "I didn't throw many breaking ball in high school, so of course my breaking ball is important, but I don't think I can get by with just my fastball. I need to hone my breaking balls as well. In that sense, I think getting a strikeout gave me some confidence."

Regarding fastball he had been honing since high school, he wasn't satisfied, saying, "I can get foul balls, but I can't get swings and misses, so I think I still have a lot of work to do to improve it."

His second appearance on May 27 in the Chunichi second team game was at mound of the first team's home ground, Zozo Marine Stadium. "It was my first time pitching and it had been a while since I last pitched at night, so I was a bit confused, but I was able to regain myself and pitch properly. I got two struck out, so I think that was a good thing," he said, throwing 13 pitches in one inning with 13 pitches, including two struck out pitches, allowing 0 hit, 2 strike out, 1 BB, and runs a clean pitch.

In his third appearance on the mound, against Yakult Swallows' minor league team on June 7th, he took Walk in the 5th inning with the score 2-4. With one out and no runner on base, he walked Seiya Hashimoto and then gave up a timely doble to Naoki Matsumoto, resulting in his first professional runs allowed. Nevertheless, he got Ren Sawai to ground out to third base and Ruito Nishimura to ground out to second base, limiting the runs to just one run in the inning.

Regarding the game Oisix on June 17th, he said, "My previous outing wasn't very good, so I was able to identify several areas for improvement and correct them, which resulted in a better performance." He threw with a quicker delivery even when there were no runner on base. He threw 15 pitches in one inning, 12 of which were fastball, and closer the opponent runs with his powerful pitching.

During bullpen at Lotte Urawa Baseball Stadium on July 5th, he was seen throwing in various forms, including no-windup and quick throws. When asked about the reason for this, he explained, "As I work on my weaknesses, I feel that this form is close to the optimal solution. My power output is also increasing with that form now, so I'm throwing while trying to maintain a balance."

Regarding the specific challenges, he said, "Basic output is a prerequisite and is a challenge, but within that, I think I need to raise my average." He continued, "Also, control. I tend to give up Walk in every count, so I often end up in difficult count like 23. I need to be able to throw where I want. My strengths have always been control and tempo, so I don't want to lose those. I'm working to make the most of my strengths again."

When interviewed on May 19, fastball said, "I can get fouls, but I can't get swings and misses, so I still need to work on honing my skills." On May 27, in the Chunichi second team game, with one out and a runner on second in the eighth inning with a score of 1-3, he got Rodriguez to swing struck out on a high 143 km/h fastball from 1 ball, 2 strike, and in the 8th inning with two outs and a runner on second, he got Nakamura out on the third pitch, swinging struck out from 2 strike on the fastball third pitch.

Regarding his current fastball, he said, "My fastball has improved, and numerically, my numbers have also improved. It's not just about the numbers; I think I've been able to react well against batters and get swings and missed balls, so I was able to get struck out in recent games, so I think that's getting better in that regard," he analyzed himself. "I'm not completely satisfied yet, or rather, I think this is still a long way to go, so I think I need to keep improving even more," he pledged to further improve.

breaking ball also excelled at the Chunichi second-team game on May 27, throwing Rodriguez with one ball and one strike on the third pitch with one out and a runner on second and one out on May 27, 1-3, and a 126 km/h slider. "breaking ball is getting better too, but I think I won't just focus on improving my fastball and mixing in breaking ball, focusing on fastballs. If my fastball is good, I think my breaking ball will improve too, so I want to work on that while adapting to that."

He has pitched in four regular season games, showcasing consistent pitch. "First, I want to get outs in each inning, and as a result, I think I'll get good results like struck out. I think Walk are the biggest waste, so I want to avoid them. Or rather, there's a reason why I give up Walk, and I kind of understand that reason myself, so I want to eliminate that reason, and then the cause will disappear. I want to work hard on that." He is honing his strengths, overcoming his weaknesses, and building a foundation as a professional baseball player.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita