CS first baseman stage Game 3
● Seibu Lions 1 － 4 Nippon-Ham ○
＜October 12, Belluna Dome＞

Akihiko Ohya and Tomotaka Sakaguchi, who appeared on 'Professional baseball News 2026' broadcast on Fuji TV ONE on the 12th, mentioned Seibu Lions' Natsuki Takeuchi.

Takeuchi started Game 3 of the CS first baseman stage against Nippon-Ham on the same day, but he became the lose pitcher after throwing 82 pitches over 5 innings, allowing 6 hits, 5 strike outs, and 3 runs.

Mr. Oya pointed out, "If he had been in good form, he might have pitched carefully while throwing off the batter's timing, but he didn't go inside to the right-handed batters. The approach was such that the batters could almost ignore the inside pitches, focusing instead on the outside fastballs, forks, or change-ups. I get the feeling that the strategy was perhaps too one-sided."

Mr. Sakaguchi reflected, "I was watching thinking that the feel of the change-up wasn't bad, but at key moments, in situations where there was no risk of an extra-base hit to the outside, the pitch types and locations—fastball, splitter, and change-up—became too predictable. I think the Nippon-Ham lineup simply didn't forgive him whenever his pitches floated even slightly high."

Hiroki Nomura, who served as the program MC, said, "The hits are coming off breaking balls or pitches on the outside. If there were a bit more awareness of using the inside corner and the fastball, the results might have changed. I could tell he was pitching carefully, though."

☆ Cooperation: Fuji TV ONE "Professional baseball News 2026"