There is a feeling that Lotte's Keisuke Sawada will be able to complete a full season with the first team for the first time in his fourth year since transferring.

However, in August, he gave up 3 runs against the Seibu Lions on the 14th and 1 run against the Rakuten Eagles on the 18th, allowing runs in two consecutive games. After pre-game practice for the Nippon-Ham match on August 22nd, he confessed his feelings, saying he was "at the limit" and "currently at the most critical point." In the games against the Softbank Hawks on August 26th and 27th, he acted as the closer for one scoreless inning each, and although he did not have a chance to pitch last week, he is currently on a streak of two consecutive scoreless games.

While it was mentioned that he was on the edge, he has held the opponent to zero runs for two consecutive games as a closer. However, during an interview after practice before the game against the Seibu Lions on September 1st, Sawada tightened his focus, saying, "I'm on the edge. I'm on the brink."

In the game against the Softbank Hawks on August 12, with one out and no runners in the 8th inning and the score at 4-10, the slider that got Tomoya Masaki to ground out to second on a 1-ball 1-strike count, and the slider thrown as the first pitch to Ukyo Shuto with two outs and no runners in the 8th inning that resulted in a foul, both had a trajectory like a change-up and a speed in the low 120 km/h range.

He revealed, "I wanted to try incorporating some vertical downward movement. If I only use horizontal movement, there are times when the ball gets picked up, so I'm trying things like that as well."

Regarding the splitter, there were two instances where it dropped effectively from the strike zone into the ball zone: the second pitch, a 131 km/h outside splitter that induced a swinging strike from Ryoya Kurihara with one out and no runners in the 5th inning (trailing 3-5) during the Softbank Hawks game on August 26th, and the third pitch, a 129 km/h splitter that induced a swinging strike from Yudai Shoji as the leadoff hitter in the 6th inning (trailing 2-4) during the Softbank Hawks game on August 27th.

"The splitter's velocity isn't quite there yet, but the way it drops is stable. The feel of the throw is good, so I think if the speed comes up, it will become a finishing pitch I can use in any situation. I'm in a process of trial and error regarding how to increase both the drop and the speed; if I lean too much into speed, I can imagine giving up extra-base hits on balls that stay in the strike zone, but if I focus too much on the drop, the speed drops to a point where hitters can lay off it. It feels like I'm wandering right on that edge."

So, that explains why the velocity of the second pitch—a splitter that induced a swinging strike from McCusker with a 1-ball count during the seventh inning with two outs and runners on first and second, while trailing 2-4 in the game against the Rakuten Eagles on August 18th—was 128 km/h, which is slower than usual.

That's right. I didn't want to make a mistake, because if it stays in the strike zone, there's a high probability it will become an extra-base hit, so I was consciously trying to throw it as a ball.

As he says his change-up is also 'stable,' in the Seibu Lions game on August 14th, with two outs and a runner on second in the 8th inning while trailing 0-7, his 124 km/h change-up that induced a swinging strike from Takizawa after one strike showed a good drop from the strike zone to the ball zone. In the Seibu Lions game on August 5th, with one out and no runner in the 8th inning while leading 8-0, he induced a swinging strike from Canario with a 115 km/h change-up on the second pitch after one strike. After reaching two strikes, the third pitch, a high 145 km/h fastball, was a ball, but he struck out the batter swinging with a high 151 km/h fastball on the fourth pitch. He showed a pitch that utilized a change of pace.

Regarding his fastball, he is not fully satisfied, saying, 'It's not bad, but I feel it can still get much better, so I think it starts from here.' However, he has been throwing powerful balls, such as the 7th pitch—a 150 km/h outside fastball—that struck out Masaki swinging on a 3 ball 2 strike count with one out and no runner in the 6th inning of the August 27th game against the Softbank Hawks, where the score was 2-4.

What concerns me about his recent appearances is that, looking at his pitch form, the movement during the translational phase seems to have changed slightly.

When confirming with Sawada himself, he revealed, "I am changing it," and explained, "I was throwing with my left shoulder tucked in a bit too much, causing my body to swing. As summer approached, I didn't want to swing my body as much, so I'm aiming not to tuck my left shoulder in too far. Usually, I tuck it in to the limit and use the recoil to snap the ball, but that was becoming excessive and causing my control to be inconsistent, so I'm trying to improve that somehow."

While it may feel like using recoil increases speed, Sawada, as a pitching technician, is making adjustments to the slight areas where velocity does not drop, stating, 'The more recoil you use, the more speed you get, but I am refining it to a level where it doesn't drop from there.'

He is trying to change his movements starting from playing catch. 'I try it in catch, try it in the bullpen, and if the results are good when I throw in a game, I continue with it. If the results are questionable, I make adjustments from there. If I don't change daily and just keep doing the same thing, the hitter will get used to it and will definitely hit it.' In order to be the closer for the hitter in front of him, he steps onto the mound every day, evolving through trial and error to move in a better direction.

With less than a month left in the season, he simply said, "I'll do my best." We hope to see him complete the season and reach 40 appearances for the first time since his transfer.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita