Seibu Lions pitcher Chihiro Sumida has won the August Taiju Life Monthly MVP Award. This is his second time receiving the award, following March and April of 2025, and it is a historic achievement as the first time a left-handed pitcher in the club's history has won it multiple times.

In August, he pitched in four games, recording 2 wins and 0 losses with an ERA of 0.58. He made a significant contribution to the team, including a shutout game win on August 29 against the Rakuten Eagles (Belluna Dome) with a strong performance of 3 hits over 9 innings.

When asked about his feelings on receiving the award at the press conference, the left-hander revealed, "To be honest, I'm surprised. I wasn't really paying attention to my stats; I was just focused on whether we won or lost." Regarding his most memorable game, he chose the shutout game on August 29th, where he earned a win by protecting a single run provided by his teammates. He noted, "Since I was truly focused on winning or losing, rather than the fact that I pitched the whole game alone, I was just glad we could win even by a one-point margin."

With about one month remaining in his fifth season as a professional, the team still has a chance to win their first championship since 2019. He expressed his strong determination, saying, 'I want to go undefeated from here on out. I want to pitch in a way that leads the team to victory.'