(SMBC Japan Series 2024, Softbank 1-4 DeNA, Game 3, Softbank 2 wins, 1 loss, 29th, Mizuho PayPay) The returning ace saved the team! ! DeNA pitcher Katsuki Higashi (28), who was out with a muscle tear in the back of his left thigh, started in Game 3 of the Japan Series against Softbank. In his return to pitching, he gave up one run in seven innings and threw 105 pitches. In his first appearance in the Japan Series, he brought the team a long-awaited first win. He became No. 1 in Japan for the first time in 26 years since 1998, and after two consecutive losses at his home base, the left-hander completely changed the tide on enemy territory.

The 17-day comeback road was like a roller coaster. The ace with 13 wins this season is back on the mound. Azuma pitched hard in his “bump” return to the pitch in the Japan Series. He achieved a long-awaited victory under heavy pressure and said, “I felt the joy of being able to pitch and went up to the mound with the intention of not caring if my leg was torn off.I was still recovering from illness, so I didn’t expect to be able to pitch until the seventh inning. “I’m glad that I was able to meet the expectations of the team,” he said with pride.

He allowed three hits in one inning and gave up a run. Despite receiving 10 hits in each game, he persevered with no walks and did not allow any additional points after the second inning. “I thought it would be impossible to hold him to no hits, so I was able to pitch in my own way, keeping runners on base,” he said, clenching his fist and shouting as he hit Kai with two outs on first and third base in the sixth inning. I gave.

He tore the back of his left thigh while running base in the CS first stage against Hanshin on the 12th, when he was a starting pitcher. “I felt like I couldn’t do it anymore,” he says, looking back on those days. Although he was removed from the list of participating players on the 13th, he remained with the first team and searched for a way to return, saying, “I had no problems throwing.” With the team’s decision to advance to the Japan Series, the possibility of him pitching has resurfaced. When he won the CS in his absence, the left-hander said, “I was half happy, half disappointed,” and he showed his full strength in the big game.

There are things I want to do in the East this off-season. In addition to the title of having the most wins and winning percentage, he also won the Best Nine and the Golden Glove Award, so he was very busy last year, but he was able to go to Fuji-Q Highland for the first time in his life. “It’s scary how my heart feels like it’s floating, but I love it.” Imagine a blissful time enjoying your favorite thrilling attraction all day long, with Mt. Fuji, the highest mountain in Japan, by your side.

This season, the team has made a huge leap forward by winning eight straight games in the opening season for the first time in 56 years, and the frustration of once sinking to the bottom after being withdrawn from CS has been turned into energy and Azuma is climbing even higher to the highest mountain in Japan. (Hamaura Hinata)

★Temporary interruption with finger whistle

The match was interrupted by a spectator’s whistle. During the sixth inning, with Softbank’s Imamiya on first base and one out, Higashi appealed to the umpire to stop whistling in the audience seats. Regarding the background to the unusual situation in which a warning was issued twice over the public address system, Higashi said after the match, “It’s not prohibited at PayPay Dome, so I can’t say it’s a bad thing, but at the moment of throwing, after entering the motion, I intentionally whistled too hard.” I felt like I was doing it, so I want you to think about the timing. This is our job, and we’re doing it our whole lives.”