'The coolness of abandoning the winning ace of 73 was right.' The perfect ace of seven 150km pitches is here.
Aug 09, 2024
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LG Twins' new foreign pitcher Eliaser Hernandez made a tremendous debut. Hernandez started in an away game against the Doosan Bears in Jamsil on the 8th and showed good pitching with two hits (one home run), one walk, seven strikeouts and one run in five innings. He was replaced by Lee Ji-gang in the bottom of the sixth inning with a 6-1 lead, and the team won 10-3 to win for the first time in his debut match.
Hernandez, who took the mound at Jamsil Stadium for the first time in the bottom of the first inning with Austin's first two-run homer and Moon Bo-kyung's triple, seemed nervous in the beginning.
He threw three balls back-to-back to the front-runner Jung Soo-bin. The fourth pitch also appeared to be a high ball outside, but ABS ruled it a strike. However, in the fifth pitch, he threw a ball that fell outside again and gave up a walk. From the match against No. 2 Kang Seung-ho, the ball began to enter the strike zone little by little. In the advantageous count of 1B2S, he induced a swing and miss with a 128km slider in the fifth pitch to strike out for the first time. At this time, Jung Soo-bin, who attempted to steal second base, was also tagged out and quickly went out two.
However, No. 3 Jarrod Young hit his first hit and home run. The 146km cutter came toward the body on the second pitch from 1B, and Jared did not miss it and made it a home run.
He had a long game with Yang Eui-ji. In 2B2S, Yang Eui-ji hit five consecutive fouls and bothered Hernandez. In the end, he struck out swinging with a 127km slider.
From the second inning, Hernandez certainly found his pace. With 10 seconds left in the pitch clock, he pitched aggressively at very fast intervals, such as spraying the ball. Until the fifth inning, he showed almost perfect pitching. The only one that allowed Yang Eui-ji to hit in the bottom of the fourth inning allowed him to get on base. In the end, only Jared, who hit a home run, was the batter who hit second base in Doosan until the fifth inning.
It was very cool and fast pitching that I felt confident in the pitch itself and felt like I was purifying my eyes.
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For LG, abandoning Kelly during the season and bringing in a new pitcher itself was a big burden. Because Kelly was precious to LG and fans.
Kelly was the longest-serving foreign player to play for LG since 2019. Of course, he was excellent in his skills and was a pitcher who devoted himself to the team enough to throw the ball without going on vacation to win the team's championship even if his son was born. It was not easy to replace him during the season. I couldn't help it if Kelly was too sluggishHowever, Kelly tried hard to clean up the initial slump, and actually improved. Kelly, who was 2-6 with a 5.60 ERA until the end of May, was 3-2 with a 3.18 ERA in eight games since June.
The timing of the replacement was also ambiguous. He became a losing pitcher with nine hits and five runs in five innings against KIA on July 9, his first appearance in the second half, but he became a winning pitcher with eight hits and two runs (one earned run) in six innings against Hanwha on the 14th.
LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop said, `When I finished the first half, I talked to Cha Myung-seok and Kelly about going all the way. However, in the second half of the year, when the fastball speed dropped again, I thought again and concluded after thinking about Hernandez's appearance on the market. "
Kelliro decided it was hard to look up, and he made the decision for the team.
In their last appearance on July 20, everyone said goodbye to Kelly with a tearful farewell ceremony.
And Hernandez, who was brought in while sending Kelly, gave his team a victory with cool pitching that raised expectations from his first appearance.
He showed a clear ace who made expectations that he could win enough even if he faced off against the opponent's first starter. By obtaining the first starter, LG has provided an opportunity to change the atmosphere to look up and run.
It was sad to say goodbye to Kelly, but meeting Hernandez is a new joy.
indyk@sportschosun.com
