◆ Pacific League Nippon-Ham 0-1 Seibu Lions (11th, ES CON FIELD)

He overpowered them with sheer force. Seibu Lions, the 201 cm right-hander Wingenter came in as the second pitcher from the eighth inning with a one-run lead. Yazawa swung and missed struck out and grounded out to first against Igoman. Both finished with a 155 km/h fastball, then shut down Mizuno with a 157 km/h fastball to fly out.

He has maintained a runs pitch since his first appearance of the season on June 11 against Hiroshima (at Belluna Dome), keeping ERA at 0.00. He has set a new professional baseball record with 19 consecutive hold. On the podium, he immediately expressed his joy in Japanese, saying "Arigato gozaimasu" (Thank you very much). He smiled shyly and added, "I think this is a record we set as a team, and I want to thank my teammates."

This hard-throwing pitcher, now in his second year in Japan, boasts a top speed of 161 km/h. "I've been studying a little bit every day, and during the off-season, I took Japanese classes with my wife," he said, indicating his improved Japanese skills. As he leaves after pre-game practice, he's a nice guy who greets each member of the press with "Otsukaresama desu" (Thank you for your hard work). His favorite Japanese food is "Wagyu beef nigiri sushi," showing that he's settled into life in a foreign country.

The team win their first direct confrontation against Nippon-Ham, moving back up to second place for the first time since the 8th. While they are 8.5 games behind league leaders Softbank Hawks making the road to the championship tough, they are determined to stay close. (Ayami Onaka)