SSG Landers’ newest foreign pitcher, Roenis Elias (35), has fulfilled the requirements of a winning pitcher in his first KBO start.
Elias started the 2023 Shinhan Bank Solar KBO League game against the LG Twins at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on Thursday, giving up three runs on five hits (one home run) with four walks and two strikeouts in five innings.메이저사이트
He threw 91 pitches. He threw mostly fastballs (49) and changeups (27), with a curveball (15) thrown in for good measure. His fastball reached up to 150 kilometers.
This is his first appearance in the KBO.
SSG signed Elias earlier this month as a replacement for pre-season signing Annie Romero, who was sidelined with a shoulder injury.
Elias made his first appearance in the Futures (second division) league against the Samsung Lions on April 18, pitching 3⅔ innings of four-hit ball with one walk and two strikeouts.
In his first-team debut, he faced a strong LG lineup. Prior to this game, LG was batting .291 as a team, leading the division. Their .303 batting average in scoring position is the highest of the 10 teams.
Facing new hitters in an unfamiliar league, Romero lasted five innings, but his pitches had their work cut out for them as he gave up four walks.
The walks came in the first inning. After walking the first batter, Park Hae-min, and getting Moon Sung-joo to ground out, he gave up a single to Kim Hyun-soo. He got Austin Dean to fly out to end the inning.
In the second inning, the 4-0 lead was short-lived. Two batters later, he battled Kim Min-seong for nine pitches before giving up a walk. With two outs, a two-pitch fastball to Lee Jae-won was hit for a two-run shot over the left field fence.
The third inning ended with the first triple play of the day, but in the fourth inning, the runs came again. This time, a walk was involved.
After throwing four consecutive foul pitches to Oh Ji-hwan, Elias gave up back-to-back singles to Moon Bo-kyung and Kim Min-sung, giving up another run.
With two on and two out, Elias threw three pitches in a row to Lee Jae-won before finally walking him. With runners on first and second, Kim Ki-yeon struck out swinging to prevent further damage.
In the top of the fifth, Moon Sung-ju and Kim Hyun-soo were hit by consecutive singles. With runners on first and third, Elias induced a grounder to Austin with a two-pitch changeup and got out of the jam with a double play.
With his team leading 5-3 in the sixth inning, Elias handed the mound over to Ko Hyo-joon, who would have to hold on for the win if SSG didn’t allow the tying run to score.