'Hurry up, hurry up'Easy, easy'Where are you going... 1 walk in 11 innings → 4 walks in 4 innings. ace's ball control. 4 innings, 4 walks, 3K runs, 2 runs, early steel plate
Aug 20, 2024
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Hernandez started the home game against SSG Landers in Jamsil on the 20th and allowed four hits, four walks, three strikeouts and two runs in four innings. He recorded 96 pitches in four innings and was replaced by Lee Ji-gang in the top of the fifth inning.
It was the first slump for Hernandez, who had eight hits (two homers) and one walk, 16 strikeouts and three runs in 11 innings in two games since coming to Korea.
With 12 seconds left in the pitch clock, KBO league fans were captivated by aggressive pitching that quickly played against the extremely fast tempo entering the pitch. The pitching of up to 152km of fastballs and 7 pitches freely on the sweeper and throwing the crystal ball in accordance with the situation was enough to be expected by LG fans.
But his control didn't go well on this day. He was having a hard time catching the first strike, and overall he was not doing well.
Hernandez, who blocked well with three outs in the top of the first inning, allowed Han Yu-sum to walk straight after one out in the top of the second inning. Park Sung-han then threw three balls in a row after the 2S and struck out for the sixth time. Throwing the first pitch to Lee Ji-young became a heavy hit and became the first and second bases with two outs, but he ended the inning by catching Jung Joon-jae with a fly to center field.
In the bottom of the second inning, Kim Hyun-soo's double and Hong Chang-ki's infield hit led 2-0, but Hernandez threw the hardest inning since his KBO league debut in the top of the third inning.
Hernandez, who suffered a heavy hit by No. 9 Oh Tae-gon, allowed Choi Ji-hoon to double on the right-field line, starting with a crisis of second and third bases with no outs. Suddenly, my control started to shake. In Choo Shin-soo's at-bat, the difference between ball and strike was clear. He threw one strike after three balls, but he loaded the bases with no outs with a ball that fell back for the fifth time.
He also threw three balls in a row to No. 3 Choi Jung, and threw one strike and then threw the ball again, giving him one point with a push-back walk. He then led Herredia to a short fly to left field, but third baseman Oh Tae-gon ran home and was safe when the balance shook as left fielder Song Chan-eui caught it. When it became a home throw, second baseman Jihoon Choi ran to third base, which also became a safety and became a second and third base with one out. Hernandez struck out Han Yu-sum with a swing and miss, but Park Sung-han allowed another walk to load the bases with two outs. Fortunately, he caught Lee Ji-young with a ground ball in front of the shortstop and finished with two runs. In the top of the third inning alone, he threw 43 pitches, and the number of pitches increased to 75.
Hernandez, who also gave up a left-handed hit to leader Jung Joon-jae in the top of the fourth inning, struck out Oh Tae-gon, caught Jihoon Choi with a fly to center field and Choo Shin-soo with a fly to first base to end it without additional runs. However, the number of pitches reached 96, making it difficult to pitch anymore.
Hernandez threw 45 fastballs of up to 150 kilometers, 11 149 kilometers of two-seam, 12 138 kilometers of cutters, 4 changeups, 9 curves, and 15 sliders and sweeper combined. Hernandez, who had a strike rate of 70% in the previous two games, had 55 strikes and 44 balls, falling to 57%.
indyk@sportschosun.com
