◆ Pacific League Nippon-Ham 6-1 Lotte (31st, ES CON FIELD)

Nippon-Ham Fighters manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo explained the reason for using pitcher Ren Fukushima in reliever.

Fukushima had a 3-3 record as a starter in the first half of the season, showing consistent pitch. However, in July, he was pulled from games early in two consecutive inning and was removed from the rotation.

On this day, he took the mound as the second pitcher in the 7th inning. He recorded a top speed of 156 km/h and overpowered the batters with his fastball, pitching one inning, allowing only one hit and no runs, while strike out three.

Manager Shinjo praised him, saying, "His pitches were great. The rotation is pretty much set up for two more rounds, so Fukushima won't be playing in the farm league anymore. So, I want him to gain various experiences here, understand what it's like to be reliever pitcher, and use reliever pitching in crucial situations, just like Tatsuya did. He threw some fantastic pitches today. It's definitely different from when he's a starter."

Despite being left out of the starting rotation, he emphasized the competition, saying, "If Fukushima closer well, he'll be in the rotation, so it's a competition. There are plenty of starting pitchers." Regarding the future, he said, "Of course, I want to be a starter. I want to decide when to bring him back in while looking at the situation of the starting pitcher, together with the pitching coach. There are a lot of starting pitchers."