◆ "For pitcher who are going to be set-up men or closer, one thing like this makes a huge difference."

On the 8th, Seibu Lions faced Rakuten Eagles in Naha, Okinawa, and lost 5-2. In the top of the 10th extra inning, with no outs and a runner on first base, they got Rui Muneyama and Ryosuke Tatsumi to hit ground balls to second base, but failed to turn either double play. With two outs and a runner on first base, they gave up a timely hit to Atsuki Muto, conceding the winning run.

During the August 8 broadcast of Fuji TV ONE’s “Pro baseball News 2026,” host Yutaka Takagi pointed out a costly mistake in the final stages, saying, “Well, I mean… there were two chances to double play, and we failed to capitalize on both.” Commentator Hiroki Nomura responded, “The first one looked a bit difficult, but the second one(second baseman) Kazunari Ishii fumbled it a bit, and throw went too high, so he couldn’t catch it. While it didn’t result in an error, failing to make a catch in the late stages when you should have—especially on top of runs—is pretty tough, isn’t it? Well, he’s not used to ground yet, so maybe there’s a part of it that can’t be helped,” he remarked critically.Takagi analyzed, “(For the second one), I should have gone for the touch instead of the toss,” and Nomura nodded in agreement, saying, “If you’d done that, double play you would have made the play.”

Furthermore, when Mr. Takagi speculated on pitcher ’s state of mind, saying, “After all, if you can’t get the outs you need at mound, it’s tough in situations like this, isn’t it?” the other commentator, Masaki Saito,“That’s right. Well, you might think, ‘Okay, I’ll do my best,’ but you still end up hoping he’ll get the out, don’t you?” Mr. Saito remarked. Mr. Nomura emphasized, “Especially when we go with this setup man—closer—pitcher—a single play like this can completely change the game, so he’s going in there giving it his all. It’s different from when he’s a starter.”

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