Lotte's Kaito Mori will start in the game against Seibu Lions at 5 PM.
Mori, who served as the opening day pitcher, had not recorded a win since his second victory against Seibu Lions on May 3rd. After suffering his third loss on June 10th against Chunichi, where he gave up 10 runs in 3 innings, he was removed from the active roster.
In the minor leagues, he has been working on his control of breaking ball, saying, "I'm not a blazing fastball pitcher, so I can't just overpower batters with a strong fastball. I'm working on refining my fine control and developing my own pitching style."
He started the game against the Seibu Lions on July 16, pitching 5 2/3 innings and allowing 6 hit 2 runs closer.In the July 23 game against the Rakuten Eagles, he was pulled with the score tied 1–1 in the fifth inning with no outs bases loaded, but over 4 0/3 innings, he allowed 1 runs. In the August 5 game against the Seibu Lions, he pitched 6 innings, allowing 3 hit with no walks runs, and earned his third win.
He's said he wants to refine his control of both his fastball and breaking ball, but does he feel like he's been able to improve that while playing in the first team?
"I think it's being closer because it's improving, so I think it's gradually getting better."
Especially after being promoted to the first team, on July 23 in Game Rakuten Eagles, with two outs and runners on first and second in the third inning with two outs and runners on second and second in a 1-1 tie, Itsuki Murabayashi threw the second pitch from the first pitch with a 144 km/h fastball on the inside course, and in the previous game Seibu Lions in the previous game, he threw to Natsuo Takizawa with no outs and runner in the 0-0 inning, throwing the first pitch with a 145 km/h outside fastball. His fastball of the "right-handed hitter fastball inside course" and "left-handed hitter out course" were outstanding.
"My fastball is getting better, and my velocity isn't dropping as I get into the middle of the game, so I think I'm getting better and better as I've been working hard."
breaking ball also had a good slider on August 5 against Seibu Lions, where he hit slider on the fifth pitch with two balls and two strike on a swing struck out to Kazunari Ishii in the second inning with runners on first and second, swinging 2 balls and 2 .
"I've been throwing breaking ball with a full arm swing since the start of the season, and when my numbers started to drop during the interleague games, I reviewed them in the minor leagues. I feel like they've improved again, so I think it's a sign that all the hard work I've been doing is paying off."
In his previous appearance in the Seibu Lions game, he retired Rakuto Wakabayashi from a 2-ball 2-strike inning with no two outs runner in the 5th pitch, swinging struck out on the fifth pitch, a 119 km/h curveball. Until now, he rarely used curveballs as his finishing pitches.
"With (Matsukawa) Torao's lead, but on that day, I was able to throw curves with good arm speed, so I think Torao chose that option, and the last pitch I threw to Nevin in a pinch was also a curveball. It was a little high, but because I was able to swing my arm well, it was either a mis-hit or it ended up as an outfield fly, so I think I was able to closer him out because I was able to throw with good arm speed."
In the July 23 game against the Rakuten Eagles, he was pulled from the game in the 5th inning with the score tied 1–1 and no outs bases loaded; however, in the game against the Seibu Lions, with the score 3–0 in the 6th inning and two outs with runners on first and second, he struck out Nevin with a 114-kilometer curveball for a flyout to center field after Nevin had a 3-ball, 2-strike count.Speaking about getting himself out of the jam, he said enthusiastically, “Being able to closer in a tight spot and closer a batter who’s been in great form gives me confidence. I want to closer before I get into more tight spots from now on.”
In the farm team, he often played catch with Yuji Nishino, and after catch practice, he would spend a long time receiving advice from him. On July 5th, he was seen talking with coach Takahiro Matsunaga after bullpen, and he was seen talking with various players and coaches.
"Mr. Otonari and Mr. Matsunaga are both left-handed pitcher, so I think there's a sense of connection between us, and Mr. Mima and Coach Minami, the four of us, all looked out for me, and when I was called up to the first team they told me, 'Don't ever come back!' and they talked to me about all sorts of things."
"The closest people to me are Mr. Nishino and Mr. Karakawa. Mr. Nishino was my catch partner when I was in the farm team, and he taught me all sorts of things, like telling me that it's good when I'm throwing with that kind of feeling. Mr. Karakawa would talk to me a little while we were running and give me advice. I feel like I've become more relaxed mentally."
He hopes to continue pitching as part of the starting rotation until the end of the season. Mori himself expressed his determination, saying, "I think I need to take each game seriously so that I can complete the season."
Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita
