It was the first game of the year. The reputation of the ‘super ace’ that dominated the KBO League was cracked.
For the first time this year, NC Dinos pitcher Eric Peddie failed to complete five innings.
Peddy started the 10th game of the season against the Lotte Giants at Sajik Stadium in Busan on Feb. 2 and was removed after just four innings, giving up five runs on nine hits, including a home run. He threw 78 pitches.
It was the lowest innings, most runs, and most strikeouts in his KBO debut. The previous highs were five innings (three times), three runs, and seven hits.
Prior to this game, Pedi had started 17 games, posting a 14-2 record with a 1.74 ERA. She was the only pitcher with a sub-1 ERA, and her 121 strikeouts were second only to Ahn Woo-jin’s 146. While the number of innings may seem low, 103⅓ innings is an average of more than six innings per game. She had 12 quality starts (6+ innings and 3 earned runs or less).
The day started well. He struck out Kim Min-seok and Goodrum in succession to end the first inning with three outs.
However, he faltered in the second inning. He gave up three straight singles to Jeon Jun-woo, Lee Jung-hoon, and Park Seung-wook.
Pedi’s uncharacteristic impatience showed in the next inning. With the bases loaded and one out, Lee Jung-geun hit a fly ball in front of the Lotte dugout on the first base side. Normally, the first baseman and catcher would handle the ball.
However, Pedi ignored the call from first baseman Yoon Hyung-jun and ran to catch it himself. It was a rare sight. Pitchers often leave balls over their heads to the infielders. Ahn’s at-bat resulted in an uncharacteristic changeup that slipped out of his hands.
Hitters and pitchers go back and forth. Some games are won by the pitcher, while others are won by the bats, who help the pitcher who is struggling.
Peddie worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the third inning, and the NC offense scored one run in the third and two in the fourth to turn the game around.
However, this was not his usual day. In the bottom of the fourth inning, an unexpected two-run shot came from the first baseman. With the count 0-1, he hit Pedi’s second pitch, a 130-kilometer curveball, over the left field fence. It was a cool shot with a distance of 110 meters. Peddie even made a rare appearance of staying down.온라인바카
A shaky Pedi gave up a double to Kim Min-seok and a single to Gudrum, and was replaced by Kim Si-hoon in the top of the fifth for defense. It was a rare faltering of an absolute ace. His ERA soared to 2.10.
LOTTE starter Barnes battled through a number of bumps in the road to get a quality start, throwing 109 pitches in six innings of three-run ball.