Nippon-Ham pitcher Takayuki Kato (33) made final preparations at the same venue on the 15th in preparation for his start against Rakuten on the 16th (Rakuten Mobile). He worked up a sweat by playing catch and other exercises. In the game against Orix Buffaloes on the 1st (Kyocera Dome), he gave up a three-run walk-off-off home run to turn the game around, and in his last game against Softbank on the 9th (Mizuho PayPay), he was runs. While he continues to have disappointing appearances, he has switched his mindset and is ready to do his job as a starter.
Takashi Kato is fully aware of the frustration that things aren’t going as planned. In the game Orix on the 1st (Kyocera Dome), the shutout game pace suddenly changed, and he gave up a walk-off off home run to take the lead. In the last game against Softbank on the 9th (Mizuho PayPay), in an important battle for the top spot, he was knocked out in the middle of the 4th inning after giving up 4 runs. “I haven’t been able to make a game, so I’ve reflected on that and I’ve been able to switch gears well, so I’ll do my best with a positive attitude,” he said enthusiastically.
The team is fully on guard against the strong Rakuten lineup. They are hot on the heels of third-place Orix and are within the CS zone, with Murabayashi, Kurokawa and others putting up impressive numbers in the lineup. “I think we have a lot of batters who are in really good form, so I’ll talk to catcher about that and do my best. I think everyone is in good form.” This season, the team has pitched in three games against Rakuten, with two wins. However, they will approach the game with a sense of caution yet boldness, knowing that they are a different team from the first half of the season.
Sad news also arrived. Regarding Chunichi Dragons’ Nakata’s retirement, he said, “He was a senior who took me out to dinner and things like that from my first year. I’ll miss him, but I’ve made the decision, so I want to say thank you for all your hard work. He was a really kind senior.” In his first year as a pro, he was given a wallet as a “Nakata Award.” Time has passed, and now he is supporting the team as the left-handed ace. His brilliant pitching, which even impressed his senior, has brought the team a win.
(Yamaguchi Yasushi)
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AloJapan.com