No hit until the fourth inning → 6 hits and 4 runs after the fifth inning. Nail 8 win requirement but ERA up 2.86. From 1st place to 2nd place
Jul 09, 2024
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KIA Tigers' James Nail left a regret in his first appearance in the second half.
Nail started in an away game against LG at Jamsil on the 9th and recorded six hits (one home run), one walk, four strikeouts and four runs in five ⅓ innings. He handed over the mound to Kim Dae-yu at the bottom of the sixth inning with one out and a runner on the second base with the team leading 9-4, and met the requirement to win eight games of the season.
Nails are KIA's ace. He has 7 wins and 2 losses with a 2.66 ERA in 17 games in the first half. He ranks first in ERA, second in strikeouts (103), and fifth in multiple wins.
His performance against LG is also good. He had a 1.96 ERA with one win and no loss in three games. Throwing 18 ⅓ innings, he showed good performance with 17 hits (one home run), three walks, 16 strikeouts and six runs (four earned runs).
However, in the last five games, he has not been very good with one loss and an ERA of 5.65. There was only one quality start.
It was perfect until the fourth inning of the day. The nail, which had been neatly blocked by three outs until the third inning, broke perfect pitching when second baseman Kim Sun-bin sent Moon Sung-joo's ball through the crotch after one out in the bottom of the fourth inning. Nail continued her no-hitter by handling No. 3 Kim Hyun-soo with a fly to left field and No. 4 Austin Dean with a ground ball in front of shortstop without being shaken. He pitched 47 pitches until the fourth inning, allowing no hits, no four outs, no strikeouts, and no runs.
But it wasn't good from the fifth inning. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Moon Bo-kyung, the lead-off fifth, was allowed a heavy hit, and the no-hitter was hit by Park Dong-won, the sixth, and became the first and second bases with no outs. He caught No. 7 Park Hae-min with a fly to center field, one out and runners on the first and third bases. He first caught 2S with two swings and misses to No. 8 Koo Bon-hyuk, but threw two balls and had a good five-pitch sweeper, making it a hit to left-center field for the first time.
Nail struck out No. 9 Shin Min-jae, who was strong with no hits in eight at-bats until the previous at-bat, with three pitches, against No. 1 Hong Chang-ki. Hong Chang-ki was also very strong, with two infield grounder in the first and fourth innings of the day, one hit in nine at-bats. However, the 146km pitch, which was driven to the middle of the second pitch, made sense, allowing a hit to the right-center. The second baseman homered, leading to a crisis of 5-2. 2 outs and 1st and 3rd bases. Fortunately, Moon Sung-joo was handled with a fly to left field on the first pitch, preventing additional runs.
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Moon Bo-kyung then hit the left-center fence with a double. He caught Park Dong-won with a catcher foul fly and was replaced by Kim Dae-yu. The number of pitches was only 79, but it was quickly replaced when he met with LG hitters for the third time.
Nails, which threw 45 throws of up to 151 kilometers, threw 12 changeups of up to 140 kilometers and sprayed 22 sweepers. Nail's ERA increased from 2.66 to 2.86. It dropped to second place behind NC Dinos Kyle Hart (2.74).
indyk@sportschosun.com
