"It feels like things are going really well."

In the first half of the season, Lotte's Akira Yagi stopped the momentum from shifting in the opponent's favor and delivered powerful pitch that set up his team's offense, leading the team to win multiple times and recording a team-high 8 wins despite being a relief pitcher. He expressed his gratitude to fielder, saying, "I think it's because fielder are hitting really well."

In the first half of the season, Yuki Yanagita pitched in various situations, accumulating wins. On April 25 against Softbank Hawks, with the score tied 0-0 in the first inning, two outs, and a runner on third strike, he came in to pitch after the injured starter Atsuki Atsuki Taneichi had to leave the game, holding SoftBank runs closer 2 1/3 innings. On April 29 against Rakuten Eagles, with pitcher score 3-2 in the fifth inning, one out, and Yuji Nishino Nishino, getting Yukiya Ito to win a double play with just one pitch. On May 26 against Hiroshima, he came in to pitch in the seventh inning with the score 0-1, closer the side in order, and then in the eighth inning, timely hits from Yamaguchi and Soto gave them the lead, giving Yagi a birthday win.

"I’ve been pitching in various situations, and since I think I’ll be pitching five or six innings in a 'shallow' game inning, I’m preparing for that. I do stretches, engage my core, and run—I always make sure I’m ready to go for up to five innings," he revealed.

The most common role for him has been long relief. In 14 of 30 games, he pitched at least 1 1/3 innings, and of those, there were only two appearances where he runs.One reason for his consistent strong performances as a long reliever is that “I was allowed to start in the minors, and when it comes to inning—how to get batters out, or rather, how to pitch—I don’t think I can rely on raw power to 4 inning or 5 inning like a starter would.I focus on relaxing and prioritizing control—right now, I find it easier to let them hit the ball and get outs, like two seam fastball. Because I’m pitching that way, I’m getting more routine outs and keeping my pitch count down,” he explained.

When taking mound in a tied or trailing game, he says, "I try not to let too many runner get on base, and I focus on pitching my own game and maintaining a good tempo."

◆ two seam fastball

What supports pitch is the two-seam two seam fastball, which he learned midway through the 2024 season on the advice of manager Saburo (who was the minor league manager at the time).

In the game The Giants on June 7, with the score tied 1-1 in the 6th inning with one out and a runner on first strike, he struck out Hayato Sakamoto with a 147 km/ two seam fastball on the third pitch of the at-bat, breaking his bat and forcing a ground ball to third base. Then, in the game against DeNA on June 14, with the score 4-2 in the 6th inning with one out and runners on first and second base, he struck out Tatsuo Ebina with a 148 km/h inside two-seam two seam fastball on the 1-ball, 2-strike at-bat, forcing a double play. He has also been able to shut down right-handed hitter in Central League.

"I think there's data available in Central League, but since I was facing all new batters, they were able to hit the ball well and I was able to pitch the way I wanted. In Pacific League, there will be some batters I've faced several times, so I want to think carefully about how I approach it."

With the opposing pitcher, hitter, keeping an eye on two seam fastball, in the June 14 game against DeNA—with the score 4–2 in the top of the 6th inning—he faced Shion Matsuo, who was up first, with a 2-ball, 2-strike count, and struck him out looking on an outside 150-kilometer pitch fastball struck out.

"If I don't use fastball, it gets tough, and it's easier to pitch if I can closer the game by using slider and fork effectively, so I want to continue using those as well."

As he faces more Pacific League hitter, he said, "I know there are batters who are waiting for inside pitches, and if I throw an outside fastball, they might struck out out looking or I might get them out, so I want to use outside pitches as well, not just inside ones." He added, "With right-handed batters, I often throw inside pitches, so I feel like the batters are anticipating that."

Among them, in Game Rakuten Eagles on June 21, he pitched in the 8th inning with two outs and bases loaded at 4-4, grounded out Daichi Suzuki to shortstop on the second two seam fastball pitch from the first pitch, and on July 10 in Game Orix Buffaloes, with one out and a runner on first and 4 in the fifth inning, he got Kotaro Kobayashi off the strike and got struck out to two seam fastball inside the 148 km/h pitch.

In the game Seibu Lions on July 16, he said, "In the game against Orix Buffaloes, I threw a pitch that was too easy to hit, and Ota hit it to left-center field. I thought I should be tougher this time, so I think it was good that I threw an inside high ball." In the 6th inning with the score tied 2-2 and one out with runners on first and second, he threw a 147 km/h inside two-seam two seam fastball on the first pitch to Nevin, which resulted in a fly ball to second base.

Regarding fork, he said, "fork, I would tense up and crush it, resulting in a lot of one-bounce throws. But when I was in the minor leagues, Mima-san told me, 'Think of it as fork, but just relax your arm when you throw it,' and when I tried that, it worked quite well. I'm still doing that now." As for slider, he said, "I use slider when I'm in trouble, so I think it's the secret to expanding pitch repertoire."

He is expected to continue supporting The Marines 'bullpen after the All-Star break. "I feel like I can get through the summer. I'm making sure to drink plenty of water," he said confidently. "I think all I need to do this summer is pitch my own game, so I want to work hard from here on out without letting my guard down," he declared.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita