Nippon-Ham pitcher Hiromi Ito who will start in the game against Softbank Hawks on the 4th (Kyocera Dome), spoke on the 3rd about his determination regarding the "unusual schedule."

Starting in the second week of August, the Tuesday schedule features an Softbank Hawks lineup of the top Seibu Lions teams playing against each other: Softbank Hawks (Kyocera Dome, Mizuho PayPay Dome), Seibu Lions (Escon), Softbank Hawks (Escon), Seibu (Belluna Dome), Softbank Hawks (Escon), and SoftBank (Mizuho PayPay Dome). If a pitcher takes the mound with six days of rest in between, they will face the top two teams for six consecutive weeks.

When asked about continuing to face the "two powerhouses," Ito replied, "Please bring the person who scheduled the games (laughs)." So far this season, his record against Softbank Hawks is 1 win and 2 losses ERA 6.56 in 4 games, and against Seibu Lions it is 1 win and 0 losses with ERA 2.73 in 5 games.

He revealed that he had the opportunity to talk with Softbank Hawks players, against whom he has a poor record, at the All-Star Game, and said, "Considering how badly they've been hitting me, I realized that they're also clearly annoyed by me. I think I'll pitch with a little more confidence. However, the difficulties will only increase as the matchups continue, so I need to be sure to perform well when it matters, and I hope to make a memorable appearance early in the second half of the season."

The game against Softbank Hawks on the 4th will be the team's 100th game of the season. With 44 games remaining, they are in third place, 6.5 games behind league leaders Softbank Hawks, and must win every game in their quest for a comeback victory. "I think we have to win every game, and I want to be the one to create that breakthrough, so I'll prepare thoroughly and go into the game with that in mind." They will use the unusual schedule to their advantage and close the gap with the league leaders.