156km off! Limited pitching + 13 pitches, Doosan appears to have succeeded in replacing 2 billion won. 'KKKK 1 run in 4 ⅔ innings'
Jul 14, 2024
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Balazovic started the home game against the Samsung Lions at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 14th and allowed one hit, four walks, six strikeouts and one run in four ⅔ innings.
Doosan announced the replacement of foreign players on the 4th. Alcantara, who signed a contract for a total of $1.5 million (about 2 billion won) this season, was announced on waivers and signed a total of $250,000 with Balazovic.
Canadian Balazovic is 1 m96 tall and has a 97 kg physical condition. He was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in 2016 and made his big league debut for the first time in 2023. He pitched 24 ⅓ innings in 18 games with one win and a 4.44 ERA. He has played 138 games (83 starts) in the minor leagues with 29 wins, 28 losses, seven holds, one save, and an ERA of 4.40.
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As there was only one game as a starter this season, he took the mound with a limit on the number of pitches in his first appearance. Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop said, "I'm thinking about 60 to 80." I heard that you can show a normal pitch in about 60. I think I'll have to check while throwing. I think it's going to be difficult to do more than 80."
Expectations were high as Alcantara was hired on behalf of him. A Doosan official said "Throwing up to 156 kilometers of fastballs, and above all, fork balls that come out to the middle and second half of 140 kilometers are powerful." Curve is also a good pitcher."
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After catching leadoff batters Kim Ji-chan and Lee Jae-hyun with a fly ball in the top of the first inning, he struck out Koo Ja-wook with a curve ball in 2B2S.
He struck out leadoff hitter Kang Min-ho in the second inning and walked Lee Sung-kyu. After that, Yoon Jung-bin struck out and Park Byung-ho's fly ball ended the inning.
After one out in the third inning, Jeon was hit by a double by Jeon Byung-woo, and a runner was in the scoring position for the first time. However, both Kim Ji-chan and Lee Jae-hyun were hit.
In the fourth inning, Balazovic, who neatly blocked three outs, recorded 71 pitches.
He exceeded 60 pitches, which he said were "normal pitches", but he also took the mound in the fifth inning. He got off to a shaky start by walking Yoon Jung-bin, and Park Byung-ho was also in a disadvantageous ball count with three consecutive balls. His fastball speed also dropped to the mid-140km range. However, after catching two strikes, he struck out swinging with a slider. Immediately, Yang Eui-ji caught Yoon Jung-bin's steal and quickly filled two out-counts.
He thanked Yang Eui-ji, but he allowed Ryu Ji-hyuk to get on base additionally by giving up four balls in a straight line after 1S. Jeon Byung-woo also walked to show that he was not in his best condition, and eventually handed over the mound to Lee Kyo-hoon. 93 pitches in total.
Balazovic scored one run as Lee Kyo-hoon, who followed, allowed a walk to Lee Jae-hyun after sending Kim Heon-gon out as a fielder's choice. However, he caught Koo Ja-wook with a fly ball to center field, filling all the outcounts, and Balazovic was able to finish the game with one run.
bellstop@sportschosun.com
