“I’ve got a sense of security”.
NC Dinos sidearm Lee Jae-hak, 32, shook his head with his worst pitching performance of the year. His return to the mound, and the praise of his manager, was not to be. 메이저놀이터
On the 16th, he pitched against the KIA Tigers at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field, but was pulled in the fourth inning. He gave up seven runs on four hits (one home run) and four walks in 3⅓ innings.
He returned in May and pitched four salty games with a 0.72 ERA. In all four games, he went over six innings and pitched like an ace. On this day, he went into the game with a must-win card, but his pitches were shaky from the first inning.
After giving up a single to Choi Won-jun, he struggled with Lee Woo-sung and Choi Hyung-woo in the first inning. A fastball to Socrates Brito went for a grand slam to right-centre field. It was a wasted opportunity. In the third inning, after a walk and a Kim Sun-bin single to right, the Tigers scored a run on a wild pitch at second and third base.
The bats came alive in the top of the fourth inning, scoring eight runs. But Lee Jae-hak was not to be denied. He gave up a single to Shin Beom-soo in the first inning and walked Choi Won-jun a batter later. The NC bench couldn’t take it anymore and called for the bases loaded. They brought up Ha Jun-young, but two batters later, Lee Woo-sung singled to left and Choi Hyung-woo hit a three-run homer to cut the deficit to 9-8.
Lee was charged with seven runs. His ERA increased to 2.86. His counterpart, KIA’s Lee Yi-ri, was equally as bad, giving up seven runs on six hits with three walks and three strikeouts in 3⅔ innings. It was a day to forget.
Before the game, manager Kang Myung-ho said, “His fastball has risen above 140km. My changeup is effective and my cutter is getting better this year, so hitters seem to be getting used to it. He even threw a slower curve in the form of a slider, which gave him a sense of stability.” He was hoping for a good game, but it didn’t happen.