What’s next for a 36-win ML team?
Kia Tigers’ new foreign pitcher, left-hander Eric Lauer (29), tasted the bitter taste of the KBO in his debut. In his first start against the Samsung Lions of the 2024 KBO Baseball World Series at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field on Nov. 11, he allowed four runs (four earned) on seven hits (two home runs) with one walk and two strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings.
In the top of the first inning, the offense got off to a good start, retiring the first three batters they faced, with a two-run homer by Na Sung-beom and an RBI single by Kim Sun-bin, but they were unable to capitalize. In the top of the second inning, the leadoff hitter, Kang Min-ho, gave up a home run to left field. It was a high pitch that Kang took well.
He struck out the next batter, Kim Young-woong, but gave up a walk to Lee Jae-hyun. He allowed a stolen base and gave up his second run when Park Byung-ho hit a double to right-center field.Ryu Ji-hyuk induced a grounder to first base, but Lee Sung-gyu’s misplayed ball was chased down well by Kim Sun-bin, allowing the tying run to score.
Kim Ji-chan followed with an infield single and an error by the shortstop
Kim Ji-chan followed with an infield single and an error by the shortstop, putting runners on first and third. Kim made a quick catch to get Kim out of the jam. In the third inning, Park Chan-ho’s grounder to first base after Koo Ja-rook’s single put runners in scoring position, but Kang Min-ho and Kim Young-woong were caught at the plate. 안전놀이터 Choi Won-joon made a great catch at third base to end the inning.
They couldn’t survive the fourth inning. He struck out the first batter, Lee Jae-hyun, on a swinging strike, but a slider to Park Byung-ho was driven into the left-field corner for a solo shot. Ryu gave up another double to Ji-hyeok Ryu in right field. It swung wildly and hit Lee Sung-gyu’s foot. Coach Jeong Jae-hoon came out of the dugout and gave him the plate. Considering it was his first start, he cut him off at 75 pitches. Left-hander Kim Dae-yoo got two outs to keep the game scoreless.
His pitches included a cutter (32), fastball (28), curveball (9), changeup (5), and slider (1).
His fastball topped out at 151 mph and averaged 147 mph. It wasn’t the class of his 36 ML wins in his first start. He was unable to overcome a red-hot Samsung batting lineup that led the team in batting average (.337) in August. The fact that right-handed hitters Kang Min-ho and Park Byung-ho hit home runs was also significant.
Samsung manager Park Jin-man said before the game, “They have a high batting average, but they don’t throw as many strikes as I thought. We’ll see how our batters deal with it,” he said before the game, offering a nuanced analysis of the pitcher’s lack of threat. Lee Bum-ho also said, “Samsung’s young hitters have strong offense. We’ll see how they handle it,” Lee said. Even with the added variable of making his debut in an unfamiliar environment, it was a first start that left him with a lot to work on. Lauer will look to redeem himself in his second start on Sunday against Jamsil LG.