Lotte's Sam Long has pitched 26 innings in 6 games since being moved to the starting rotation, but in the game against Softbank Hawks on July 4th, he pitched his longest outing since coming to Japan, throwing 104 pitches over 7 innings closer allowing runs, and earned his first win in Japan.

When interviewed on June 10th, he said, "The hardest thing about switching from reliever to a starter is the number of pitches. When I was reliever, I had to closer the number of pitches low, but when I started, the number of pitches inevitably increased, so I found it a little difficult." Despite this, he threw 104 pitches over 7 innings against Softbank Hawks.

"I feel I've made good adjustments as a starting pitcher. It's been a while since I threw 104 pitches, so it felt like it had been a long time, but I was able to throw them all. I want to continue to throw a lot of pitches and pitch long inning."

fastball, who has transitioned from the bullpen to the starting rotation, also expressed optimism, saying, “I think I’m steadily moving in the right direction.” He added with conviction, “After trying various things since June, my stuff has gotten more powerful, and my control was solid in my last start. I want to keep working hard to continue improving.”

Even after piling up inning, fastball keeps his speed from dropping. In his last Softbank Hawks game, in the 7th inning with one out and a runner on first (8-0), fastball missed Tatsuru Yanagimachi on a 2-ball, 2-strike run and struck out, and measured 148 km/h.

"I definitely think it's a good sign. Previously, I had an issue where my fastball velocity would drop as the game progressed, but now I'm able to maintain my power and throw fast pitches, and I'm happy that I'm getting struck out."

Regarding breaking ball explained, "As before, since I'm a starting pitcher, I'll be facing various players not just once, but multiple times, so I want to mix in off breaking ball pitches while keeping fastball as the main weapon."

He mainly throws cutter, slider, and curves, but he hardly throws change-up he used to throw in the majors. Is he saving it for the future?

"It's not that I'm hiding it or anything, but rather that other breaking ball take priority, so I'm not throwing it much right now. However, it's definitely breaking ball I'll have to use more as the season progresses, and I want to make sure I use change-up effectively as batters start to figure out how to deal with it."

Having secured his first win in his last start, he's hoping to pitch as many inning as possible today and lead his team to win. "I really want to pitch as many inning as possible and throw as many pitches as I can. I'll do my best to win and contribute to the team." He'll take mound against Orix Buffaloes aiming for his second win.

(Sam Long pitcher Interpreter= Chiba Lotte Marines ・Jumpei Murata Interpreter)

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita