In professional baseball, both the Central and Pacific Leagues will open at the same time on the 29th, and the pennant race will begin.


The expressions of the six Pacific League teams the day before the opening day.


Orix coach Nakajima, who is aiming for a fourth straight victory, expressed his enthusiasm, saying, ``I want to always fight with an attacking attitude.''

Oryx

Orix will play their opening game on the 29th at their home base, Kyocera Dome Osaka, against Softbank, which finished third last season and is led by new manager Kokubo.



On the 28th, the team adjusted at home, and fielders such as last year's leading hitter, Yuma Tongu, and Ryoma Nishikawa, a promising new talent who transferred from Hiroshima as a free agent, took part in batting practice in a relaxed manner. I was prepared.



On the pitching side, pitcher Daiya Miyagi stretched, then played catch for about 10 minutes while checking his form and making some minor adjustments.



Miyagi, a left-handed pitcher who had double-digit wins for three years in a row until last season, was selected as the starting pitcher for the first time in five years and said, ``I feel happy.Softbank has a lineup of good hitters and is a shrewd batting lineup.'' "I want to be careful about home runs and giving up too many runs. I want to pitch well and give the team momentum," he said of his determination.



Coach Nakajima expressed his enthusiasm, saying, ``We will play with the intention of winning the league for the first time, considering that our third consecutive league victory was last year.''We want to fight with an aggressive attitude and not back down.''

Lotte

Lotte, which ranked second last season, will aim to win the league for the first time in 19 years under coach Yoshii, who is in his second year in charge, and will face Nippon-Ham at their home base, ZOZO Marine Stadium, who are aiming to make a comeback from last place for the second consecutive year. Masu.



Lotte's practice begins at 5:00 p.m., and pitcher Kazuya Kojima, who won 10 games last season by pitching only regular innings, and who will serve as the starting pitcher for the second consecutive year, occasionally puts effort into each pitch. We played catch to get a feel for each pitch.



During batting practice, Polanco, last season's home run champion, and new player Soto, who has won the home run title twice, made a great sound with their sharp swings.



After practice, pitcher Kojima said enthusiastically, ``I'm going to pitch in the first game of 2024 out of 143, so I couldn't be happier. I want to do my best to do my best.''



Coach Yoshii said at a press conference prior to practice, ``We have a few injured players, but other than that, everything is going well. I'm excited to see how our players will perform. I always look forward to seeing how the match unfolds when I play against Nippon-Ham's coach Shinjo, so I want to make sure we don't lose as well.'' He expressed his aspirations.

Softbank

Softbank will play three consecutive games against Orix, who have won three consecutive Pacific League titles, at Kyocera Dome Osaka.



Coach Kokubo spoke to the press before the opening game and spoke about his current state of mind, saying, ``We've been doing surprisingly well so far.This is my first year as a coach, so I want to get our first win as soon as possible.''



Regarding facing Orix in the opening game, he said, ``It's a good opponent that will allow us to challenge and test the current power of the Hawks.We want to face them as a challenger, not as a team that always wins.''



Regarding pitcher Kohei Arihara, who will serve as the opening pitcher, he said, ``I think it was a pressure-filled adjustment, but his condition is improving.In order to get off to a good start, I'm aiming for the catcher's mitt and working hard for the team, the fans, and myself.'' I want him to pitch," he said with high hopes.



Looking ahead to the season, he expressed his enthusiasm, saying, ``As a challenger, we are still aiming for the top of the Pacific League.We want to make this a season where we are patient while considering the growth of our players.''

Rakuten

Rakuten, which ranked 4th last season, will aim to win the league for the first time in 11 years and become number one in Japan under the newly appointed manager Imae.The opening game will be at home against Seibu, which ranked 5th last season.



The team practiced coordination from 10am at Rakuten Mobile Park Miyagi in Sendai City.



Pitcher Takahisa Hayakawa, who will be pitching for the first time in his fourth year as a professional, prepared for pitching by warming up and making light adjustments such as playing catch.



Hideto Asamura, the fielder's captain and main player, stayed behind for batting practice after the general practice, checking on timing and other issues while showing off his great hits from wide angles.



After practice, Coach Imae said, ``I'm in a mixed state of excitement and anxiety. I want the fans to see us fighting desperately. I want to work with the fans to bring excitement to Tohoku. Just like the team slogan, ``Itadaki,'' "I want to head to the top to see the view."



Regarding the opening pitcher, Hayakawa, he said, ``I want him to stand on his own and lead the team.He's been in good shape so far.I want him to pitch in a way that will make him feel glad to have him as the opening pitcher once the season is over.'' I was sending it.

Seibu

Seibu, aiming to win the league for the first time in five years and become number one in Japan for the first time in 16 years, will face Rakuten in the opening game in Sendai.



On the 28th, pitcher Tatsuya Imai, who practiced the day before from around 2:00 p.m. and was pitching for the first time in his 8th year as a professional pitcher, carefully pitched each pitch while paying attention to the movement of his center of gravity while playing catch, and carefully perfected his pitching form. I was checking.



During batting practice, Aguilar, a new foreigner with 114 home runs in the Major Leagues and who is expected to play an active role as a centerpiece to solve the problem of a lack of scoring ability, was hitting sharp balls from wide angles.



After practice, pitcher Imai looked ahead to the opening game against Rakuten, which has won nine straight games since three years ago, and said, ``I'm not really that strong, but I like the atmosphere of the stadium, so I always feel comfortable pitching.'' Team ``I want to stand on the mound with a strong sense of responsibility to pitch on behalf of the United States,'' he said with enthusiasm.



Manager Matsui, who is in his second year as manager, expressed his expectations, saying, ``I want him to show off his typical Imai style and pitch with all his might.''

Nippon Ham

Nippon-Ham will play three consecutive games against last season's runner-up Lotte at ZOZO Marine Stadium in Chiba.



Before the opening game, Manager Shinjo held a press conference with Lotte's Manager Yoshii and said, ``In the opening game, regardless of whether we win or lose, it would be great if we could play a game that the fans can enjoy and be excited about until the very end.'' did.



Coach Shinjo commented on this season, his third year in charge, saying, ``I feel like the players who have grown over the past two years will explode this year. I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of play they'll show.''



Regarding pitcher Taikai Ito, who is in his fourth year as the opening pitcher, he said, ``I don't want him to pitch too much and not have his feet on the ground, so I'd like him to relax his upper body strength and pitch a few times. I want them to play with the mindset that it doesn't matter if they score points,'' he said, hoping for normal pitching.