Lotte's Fumiya Ono has currently gone 11 consecutive games without allowing any runs since the game against Nippon-Ham on July 12.

Last season, the team's Avg against left-handed hitter was .193 (16 out of 83), while Avg right-handed hitter was .312 (24 out of 77), which was a weakness. This season, however, Avg left-handed hitter has been reduced to .206 (13 out of 63), and Avg of right-handed hitter has been closer to .189 (10 out of 53).

One of the factors contributing to his success in closer right-handed hitter is sinker type high-speed fork he's been throwing to right-handed hitter this season. Ono himself commented, "I didn't throw that pitch at all last year, so I think that's probably why."

In the game against Softbank Hawks on July 18th, closer runs for two innings, in the 8th inning with two outs and a runner on third base, with the score 3-5, he threw a 149 km/h sinker-type fork on the inside strike to Tomoya Masaki, who swung and missed, and then, with a 2-ball, 2-strike count, struck out looking with a 140 km/h slider on the outside corner. His strategy of making Masaki anticipate an inside pitch before challenging him on the outside was brilliant.

I had been going inside a lot, so I thought a slider would work at the end. I think Toshiya (Sato) was thinking the same thing, and I'm glad I was able to throw it to a good spot in the end.

I wonder if they had been making him conscious of the inside corner from the start, setting up a showdown on the outside...

"I was hoping he'd hit a ground ball early in count, but since it went up to two strike, I decided not to be too persistent. It's not a pitch I'm particularly confident in, so I think it was good that I was able closer out with slider at the end."

As of the interview on July 19, the fork to the inside corner of right-handed hitters was not a pitch he threw with much confidence, saying, "Since not much time has passed since I started throwing it, I don't think it's a pitch I should throw aggressively."

However, he is also throwing sinker-like forks to right-handed hitters and effectively using the inside of the plate. "I think it's becoming easier to throw because the fork is going to the inside," he analyzes.

Last season, from summer onwards, he was throwing not only fastballs and sliders but also change-ups against right-handed hitters; I wonder if the reason he hasn't been throwing change-ups to right-handed hitters this season is because his fork is good?

I can throw the ball fast, so I thought that might be better.

The fork is approaching 150 km/h. "I'm not even thinking about making it drop, and I'm throwing it so it just moves a little, so it doesn't really feel like anything special," he said.

Just as he got ahead in count with an inside pitch against Masaki and struck struck out with an outside slider, in the game Rakuten Eagles on August 19, with the score 2-3 in the bottom of the 6th inning with two outs and no runner on base, he got Soshi Yoshino to foul off the first pitch, a 152 km/h fastball on the inside, then fouled off the second pitch, another 152 km/ fastball on the inside, and finally got him to fly out to center field with an outside slider on the third pitch. It was good that he made Yoshino think he was going inside and then challenged him on the outside, but according to Ono, "That was a pitch that just went inside on its own," so it seems it wasn't a pitch he intended.

He reached 30 appearances this season in the game against the Softbank Hawks on the 26th, leaving him 10 appearances away from reaching 40 for the second consecutive year. "I feel like it would be good if I can get there. It's going to be tight, so, yeah, I'll just go out whenever I'm called upon. I want to do my best."

Lotte has 32 games remaining. There is a significant gap of 7.5 games to third-place Nippon-Ham. Behind the massive comeback win against the Softbank Hawks on the 26th, where they overcame a five-run deficit, the relief pitchers' ability to keep putting zeros on the scoreboard was a major factor. In the upcoming games, there is no doubt that the performance of the relief corps will be the deciding factor between victory and defeat.

"I believe my job is simply to pitch well in whatever role I'm assigned, so I hope I can keep putting up good performances to give the team some momentum." For the sake of the team, he gives his all on the mound in the position he's been given.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita