He caught both Kim Do-young and Choi Hyung-woo with a fastball of 153 kilometers. 7.1 scoreless innings. If you throw it like this, you'll be the ace
Jul 10, 2024
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In his first appearance in the second half of the home game against KIA at Jamsil Stadium on the 10th, he was replaced with a 1-0 lead with two hits, one walk and six strikeouts in seven ⅓ innings.
This year's 6 ⅓ innings (against Lotte in Busan on May 10) were his most innings, but he showed the possibility of innings with his best pitching on the day.
Ence, who showed sluggish performance in May but gradually adapted to the KBO league with 8 wins, 3 losses and a 4.62 ERA in the first half, showed off his powerful side in his first appearance in the second half.
In the game Casey Kelly took the mound the previous day, KIA batters scored 11 points with 17 hits. The best-hit team with a team batting average of 2997 overall.
In the first half against KIA, Ence took the mound three times and had a 4.50 ERA without a win or loss. The hit rate was not very good at 318.
But this day was different. He completely blocked the KIA lineup.
In the top of the fourth inning, he hit No. 1 Socrates with a ground ball in front of the first base and pitched 10 consecutive hitters, and both the perfect and no-hitters were broken after a fierce battle with No. 2 Choi Won-joon to the 9th pitch. However, he immediately saw Choi Won-joon, who attempted to steal second base, threw it to first base and was out with intimidation. And he handled Kim Do-young with a fly to center field. In the top of the 5th and 6th innings, let's get out again. Until the sixth inning, he had one hit, no four outs, no six strikeouts, and no run. The number of pitches was only 69, which was a complete game pace.
I had my first crisis in the top of the seventh inning. He threw three consecutive balls to the lead Socrates, and led him to the full count, but eventually gave him a walk. And a sacrifice bunt to Choi Won-joon, one out and second base. In the Gwangju game on June 20, Ence once hit a grand slam on a fastball by Kim Do-young. Again, he was hit by a 150-kilometer fastball that cut right-center, but right fielder Hong Chang-ki ran quickly and caught it. He met Choi Hyung-woo, who hit the bases loaded the previous day with two outs and third base, and handled it with a ground ball in front of the second base, continuing his scoreless streak.
Ence, who also appeared in the top of the eighth inning, treated Na Sung-bum with a fly to left field, but eventually allowed a heavy hit due to Kim Sun-bin's persistent game to the 13th pitch. The number of pitches increased to 97, and he was replaced by Kim Jin-sung with one out and one runner on the first base, and Kim Jin-sung blocked the eighth inning without allowing a run.
On the same day, Ence sprayed 54 fastballs, more than half of them. This means that the ball power was that good. I sprayed 19 cutters and 19 curves, and I added 3 sliders and 2 changeups.
indyk@sportschosun.com
