Lotte's Shunsuke Nakamori was promoted to the first team for the first time this season on May 4th, and so far has pitched 20 innings in 20 games, recording 2 wins, 10 hold, 1 save, 14 strike out, and an outstanding ERA of 0.45, demonstrating remarkable consistency.

From his first appearance of the season against Orix Buffaloes on May 4th to the game against The Giants on June 6th, runs 11 consecutive scoreless games. In the game against Hiroshima on May 28th, he pitched on consecutive days for the first time this season, including both the first and second teams, but he said, "In terms of physical condition, I felt better on the second day of consecutive pitching, and my body felt tighter, so I want to make sure I don't let the fatigue that accumulates from pitching on consecutive days build up. I want to recover properly from scratch." He threw 14 pitches in one inning, allowing no hits, hit strike out 2, walking 0, and runs BB, a flawless pitch.

From the game against Nippon-Ham on May 12, he said he was "conscious of using his whole body to throw" and was using a form that made full use of his body, but from the game against Hanshin Tigers on May 31 onwards he said he "is gradually returning to his original form" and has returned to a form closer to that of last season.

Could this be related to the fact that his original form has also gained speed?

"I was simply using a form that involved a lot of body movement, and I wasn't able to control my body properly. I didn't know where the ball was going. I'm throwing with a form that feels comfortable to me, but I feel like that's causing me more damage." (Interviewed on June 18)

In the game Rakuten Eagles on June 19th, it appeared that he spent more time lateral when pitch than usual.

"I think it's good if the horizontal time appears to be long, but personally I don't consciously think about it that much. If it appears that way to others without me consciously thinking about it, then I think that's fine."

Given the high risk of injury, he's returned to a form close to his original one, but is his body actually okay?

"There isn't just one cause of injury; it's a combination of various factors. I'm working on improving each of those things one by one, so I'm trying to become a new person. If I had the same body and the same form as last year, I would just repeat the same mistakes. I want to re-examine things like the movement of my hip joint and other small details and work on them." (Interviewed on July 10)

◆Returning to pitch primarily consisting of fastball and fork

On the pitch side, his mindset was to 'use as many good pitches' as possible, and right after his promotion, his pitch rate was high slider, but on June 14 against DeNA, he drove Atsushi Katsumata to two strike in the seventh inning with a 4-2 lead, then grounded out a grounder on the third pitch, a 137 km/h fork. From the June 14 game against DeNA, he returned to a pitch style close to last season, using only two pitches, fastball and fork.

"It's close to the ideal. I'm using a fastball to get ahead in count and then throwing fork, but I think the best thing would be to get struck out, and I haven't gotten nearly enough of those yet, so I think there's room for improvement," (interviewed on June 18).

In the Chunichi game on June 11, with the score tied 2-1 in the 7th inning, he threw a 137 km/h fork from a 3-ball 2-strike to the leadoff pitcher Koya Ishikawa, but it was judged and turned into a Walk, but the ball fell from the strike zone into the ball zone. Maybe he wanted to swing and miss with that pitch.

"I was behind count at that point, so I threw a foul ball on the 23rd count. I threw it in a good spot, but if I had sensed that the batter was anticipating breaking ball, if I had taken that breaking ball to heart, things might have turned out differently. That's why the last pitch was also taken by count, so I need to be able to create count where I don't fall behind, while watching the batter's reactions. I wish I could be a little more perceptive in that regard and throw accordingly."

In the game against Rakuten Eagles on June 19, with two outs and runners on first and third in the 7th inning, 8-4, Fumiya Kurokawa swung and missed on the first pitch at 150 km/h outside fastball, the second pitch at 151 km/h outside fastball, and the third pitch dropped from the 135 km/h strike zone to the ball zone at fork and missed. struck out was a fastball that closed in at fork and struck out at the .

"I think that fork was good because it was at a good height and on a good course."

In the game against Nippon-Ham on July 8, when he took the mound in the 8th inning with the score 2-7, the fifth fork he threw to Yua Tamiya a strike, was clocked at 140 km/h. The speed of fork was 3 or 4 km/h faster than usual.

"I'm trying that out, or rather, I'm trying out a splitter type, side-spin fork. It's not fork I originally threw, so it's more of a trial run. I'm hoping it will work."

It's good that he's been able to swing and miss in fastball in his recent appearances. Nakamori himself analyzed, "I think it's good. Turning count to his advantage is the core of my pitching, so if I can get my count in a straight and early setup, I think I'll get closer to my pitch style, and that's a good thing."

In an interview on June 18th, he said, "fastball isn't back to normal yet. My breaking breaking ball won't improve unless fastball itself gets better, so it's still not there." But can we assume that fastball has returned to normal?

"It's kind of a struggle. My speed hasn't really come back yet, and last year I ended up getting injured. If I go back to the same thing, I'll get injured again. I'm thinking about that and hoping to find a new style." (Interviewed on July 10)

Nakamori's performance is absolutely essential for the team to climb higher in the standings from summer onward. "It's going to be hot this summer, but I'll prioritize my health and make sure I don't catch a cold or get sick." If he stays healthy and injury-free, he will undoubtedly throw some of the best pitches in the league. Above all, I hope he can fight through the season without getting injured.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita