The ace you’ve been waiting for is here.
The LG Twins’ new foreign pitcher, Eliezer Hernandez, was a dominant pitcher in his KBO debut.
Hernandez started the game against Doosan at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on Aug. 8 and pitched five innings (78 pitches), allowing one run on two hits, one walk, one home run, and seven strikeouts. LG’s offense exploded for a 10-2 victory.
Hernandez touched 150 mph on his fastball on the day. In addition to his fastball, Hernandez threw a variety of other pitches, including a sweeper, curveball, and cutter. He gave up one run on a solo home run. He struck out seven batters in the third inning.
A rough first inning in an unfamiliar league. Hernandez walked the first batter of the inning, Jung Soo-bin. He got Kang Seung-ho to swing at a slider for a double and was tagged out trying to steal second base, relieving the pressure. Two batters later, he gave up a solo home run to Jered on a 145-kilometer fastball that was driven down the middle and over the right field wall.
From the second inning on, the pitching was steady.
In the second inning, he struck out Yang Seok-hwan, Kim Jae-hwan, and Heo Kyung-min. He had good command of his fastball and a big drop sweeper. The third inning, he struck out two batters to end the inning.
In the bottom of the fourth, he gave up a hit to Yang Ji, but got Yang Seok-hwan to fly out to shortstop to end the inning. On the fifth, he got Kim Jae-hwan to ground out to shortstop, Heo Kyung-min to fly out to left field, and Jeon Min-jae to fly out to first base to end the inning.
Hernandez, who was scheduled to throw around 80 pitches in his first start, finished the night with 78 pitches in five innings. With a 6-1 lead, 메이저사이트 LG activated its bullpen in the sixth inning.
“It feels great,” Hernandez said after the game about his debut win. I feel like I started the first game well, so I’m happy with that, and more importantly, the team hasn’t won the last two games, so it feels really good to win today,” he said with a smile.
Hernandez gave up a walk and a home run in the first inning, but quickly settled down in the second.
“I was very nervous when I came up in the first inning,” Hernandez said. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to pitch well today, but I think I did well because the fans were supporting me,” Hernandez said.
“Hernandez was very nervous because the fans were so loud. I couldn’t concentrate, but I told myself that I just have to do my normal routine. I told myself to just do it normally, and I think that’s how I focused and finished the game well,” he added.
Hernandez’s pitch breakdown, provided by Doosan Power Analytics, showed 35 fastballs, 21 sweepers, five sinkers, four sliders, six cutters, two changeups, and five curves. He threw seven different pitches.
Hernandez talked about his variety of pitches, saying, “I mentioned it in my first interview when I came to LG, the deciding pitch depends on the hitter and the situation. I think all of my pitches can be decisive pitches depending on the situation, and I think they’re all pitches that can get hitters out,” he said.
In his first start, he was removed after 78 pitches.
“My arm feels good,” Hernandez said. It was just a little bit of a physical challenge,” he said, adding that he was confident that he could throw 100 pitches in his next start.
The weather has been sweltering lately. “I’m from Venezuela,” Hernandez said. The weather in Venezuela is a little bit like the weather in Korea right now. I’m used to the hot weather and I’m used to it, so I think I threw comfortably,” he said.
After joining LG, Hernandez watched the KBO League and experienced it during his first pitch. When asked about his overall impression of the KBO, Hernandez said, “The hitters seem to be more aggressive. I think it’s a little bit better for me,” he said.