Lotte's Yuki Karakawa made his first start of the season against Hanshin Tigers on May 30, but was removed from the first-team roster the following day, and pitched in three games for the farm team in June.

In June, he inning fewer innings with fewer pitches. In particular, he threw 5 innings and 54 pitches against Hayate on June 19th, and 4 innings and 53 pitches against Oisix on June 30th.

▼Number of pitches thrown in minor league games in June

June 10th vs. Oisix: 5 innings, 81 pitches

June 19th vs. Hayate: 5 innings, 54 pitches

June 30th vs. Oisix: 4 innings, 53 pitches

When asked why he was able to throw fewer pitches, he explained, "My base has remained the same: cutter. Since it's the minor leagues, everyone is aiming for my fastball. When that works, the number of pitches decreases, and I can also get count with my slower pitches, so I think that's why the number of pitches is low."

Furthermore, it appears he has changed pitch form since his appearance in Rakuten Eagles minor league game on May 15th. "I'm still experimenting and trying different things, so I think it's changing little by little. I'm still trying different things," he explained.

Could his trial and error with pitch form be related to his "cutter"?

"Well, it's not just about cutter, but I feel like I'm constantly searching for something that's working well and giving me a sense of accomplishment every day."

◆ Hanshin Tigers game saw many unfortunate runs conceded.

Although he has been pitching in the minor leagues since June, his first appearance and first start in the major leagues this season against Hanshin Tigers on May 30th left a very unfortunate impression.

He grounded out Takumu Nakano, the leadoff scorer in the first inning 0-0, and got Shota Morishita to struck out swinging with a 124 km/h vertical curve from 2 strike, scoring two outs in good form before giving up a home run to Teruaki Sato, batting third.

In the third inning with the score tied 1-1, he missed Seishiro Sakamoto's leadoff pitch struck out on a 1-ball, 2-strike and retired him on the fourth pitch, a 145 km/h cutter outside pitch, which was excellent, but then Keiyu Kumagai hit a safety bunt hit to first base. He retired Nakano from 1-ball, 2-strike on a swinging struck out on the fourth pitch, a 136 km/h change-up that was also a good breakthrough. He made it to two outs, but Morishita hit a two-run homer to left for two runs. In the fifth inning, Morishita hit his second Home Run of the day, throwing 74 pitches over five innings, allowing 5 hit, allowing 4 strike out, 1 BB, and 4 runs.

"It's the same with home run hitters, but I pitch with the understanding that solo home run are somewhat unavoidable, so the first home run run was somewhat unavoidable. The first and second home runs that Morishita hit were both mistakes, so that's a shame," he reflected.

He has been throwing good curveballs, including the one that struck struck out Morishita, and he has also been seen throwing good curveballs in his appearances in the minor leagues. He himself feels confident, saying, "I think the curveball is the pitch I can control the best right now." Regarding slider, he said, "I have a high probability of being able to throw it well outside, so it would be good if I could throw it like that, but I don't want to rely on it too much."

Currently, the first team is in 5th place, 8 games behind the league leaders Softbank Hawks, but has a winning record of 37 wins, 36 losses, and 3 ties. With a series of games coming up from August onwards, there will undoubtedly be a time when he needs to play. "That's something I've always done; I'll continue to prepare so that I can perform at my best when called up to the first team, and that hasn't changed. I want to keep doing that." He will continue to prepare in order to perform well in the first team.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita