[Otani Shohei, April 22nd]Before the match, he played catch with T. Hernandez!

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts (52) responded to a press conference on the 22nd (23rd Japan time) before the match against the Cubs on the run, mentioning pitcher Otani Shohei (30)’s pitching practice plan. Otani joined the “father list” and accompanied Mamiko (28) to give birth, so she missed the match against the Rangers on the 18th and 19th (19th and 20th). Therefore, it was pointed out that it may have an impact on the pitching practice schedule, but the manager emphasized that he was as planned, saying, “(The schedule) has not changed. I don’t know if I threw (played catch) while I was back in my hometown. I’ll play catch today, and then I’ll throw lightly in the bullpen tomorrow. And I’ll practice pitching with great effort in the bullpen on Saturday.” He resumed pitching in bullpen on the 23rd (24th) and revealed that he plans to practice strong pitching in the bullpen on the 26th (27th). He also explained that there is no clear line to show the progress of the adjustment, saying, “We will eventually throw (in practical training). We don’t know what the next stage will be. Once it becomes more relevant to the batters, the direction will be clearer.” He then reiterated that there is no major progress at this stage, saying, “However, I’m still in the bullpen stage and I haven’t even thrown the slider yet.” For the time being, whether he continues to pitch bullpen and whether he is in the stage where he can throw a slider will likely be a guideline for whether he has taken a step forward. We bring you the latest news Sponichi Annex https://www.sponichi.co.jp/ Sponichi Photography and Video Club’s X (formerly Twitter) https://x.com/Sponichi_Photo Sponichi Photography and Video Club’s Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sponichiphoto_official?igsh=MWVyZmZzcGpvNmsycA== Sponichi’s X (formerly Twitter) https://twitter.com/sponichiannex