Pacific League: Orix Buffaloes 3-6 Softbank Hawks (30th, Kyocera Dome Osaka)

Orix Buffaloes ・ Seiryu Kotajima pitcher (27) could feel both nervousness and excitement through their skin. In the eighth inning, trailing by two runs, he entered the mound in third place with his familiar entrance song "Ah, Tears of Life." "He's back... It feels great, doesn't it?" After farm adjustments, he made his first first-team appearance since the game against Seibu Lions on April 16 (Kyocera Dome). Centered around a fastball topping out at 148 km/h, he started the first inning with a 1-hit runs and 2 strike out.

This season, he aimed for a full recovery from the right elbow surgery he underwent in September 2013, but after being removed from the active roster on April 17, he suffered a left side injury in May. "Just when I thought I was making progress, I'd fall back again... It was tough," he said, overwhelmed by impatience and anxiety. Encouraged by pitcher coach Hirano, who told him, "It'll make you feel better mentally," he also went to Mondoyakujin in Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture, to have his bad luck dispelled. "For now, let's just do everything we can," he said, practicing mental training by self-evaluating his current emotions on a three-point scale. While undergoing rehabilitation, he continued to confront himself and made progress step by step.

Although the team fell to a season-worst four games under .500, the passionate right-hander's superb pitching is a bright spot. "Whether it's long relief or a losing situation, I intend to do whatever is needed. I want to enjoy myself while putting my soul into every pitch," he said with determination. In 2024, he became only the second rookie in history (and the first in the Pacific League) to achieve 50 or more appearances and an ERA in the 0.00s. He possesses a hidden strength that comes from having taken the long way around. (Shunta Nambu)