[Seibu] Mitsunari Takahashi and Yu Koga, who replaced the battery, have a serious talk: "It's like a fist fight (laughs). With fists." They deepen their bond and aim for revenge.

Sports Hochi

2025.4.7(月) 13:28

Seibu 's pitcher Mitsunari Takahashi, who is expected to start in the game against Lotte on the 8th (Belluna D), revealed on the 7th that he had a thorough "serious" discussion with catcher Yuto Koga after his last appearance on the mound. He expressed the seriousness of the discussion by jokingly saying, "It's like a fist fight (laughs). With our fists." He was enthusiastic about his first win in two years, saying, "I want to be able to get into the game well from the start."

This was a season where he hoped to bounce back from last season's 0-11 record, but in his first appearance on March 30th against Nippon-Ham (Belluna D), he gave up 2 consecutive Home Run to Nomura, giving up 6 RBI, and left the game after 5 innings with 7 hit 6 runs. As manager Nishiguchi explained his intention by saying, "I wanted them to get their heads in order together," his battery partner Koga Yu was also replaced, and after leaving the game, he commented, "I'd like to have a proper talk with Koga after this."

On this day when he attended pitcher practice at Carminique, he actually said, "It's the details, what they're asking for, what I want to do, how I'm postured. I think they can catch me in the open from that kind of thing. On the 6th, he and Yu Koga came in to bullpen again and threw 33 pitches while making sure everything was in order. I threw a little more than usual. But I'm glad I was able to check it out. The battery, which has deepened its relationship of trust, will be looking to take revenge.