KIA Tigers’ new foreign pitcher Eric Lauer reported his first KBO league win.
At the game against the LG Twins held at Jamsil Stadium on Wednesday, Lauer allowed four hits, four walks, seven strikeouts and one run in five innings. Kia, which was trailing LG 0-1 until the fourth inning, succeeded in turning the tables on Lauer at the top of the fifth inning to create a winning requirement, and made a big inning with nine runs in the sixth inning, solidifying its spirit of victory. As KIA defeated LG 14-4 to Lauer, Lauer gained the KBO League title.먹튀검증
Lauer, who allowed four runs (against No Dishi) in three ⅓ innings against Gwangju Samsung on the 11th, his debut match, needed a rebound against LG.
But it was a series of struggles until the fourth inning.
Lauer, who gave up a walk to Shin after one out in the bottom of the first inning, attempted to keep the ball in check at bat in Austin, but allowed him to advance to the third base as the ball fell back. However, he blocked the loss by striking out Austin and Moon Bo-kyung in succession.
Lauer gave up a left-center hit to Kim Hyun-soo after two outs in the bottom of the second inning, but he came down the mound without a run as he caught Park Hae-min with a ground ball.
He gave up a run in the third inning. Lauer, who allowed a hit to left field to leadoff hitter Song Chan-ui, walked Hong Chang-ki to load the bases. With their double steal to second and third base with no outs, Lauer induced Shin Min-jae to ground out to shortstop, but Song Chan-ui gave up the first run, his home run in the meantime. Lauer had to settle for blocking additional runs by striking out Austin and handling Moon Bo-kyung on a fly ball.
Lauer was in crisis again in the fourth inning. He gave up a base hit to Oh Ji-hwan after one out, and allowed Kim Hyun-soo to walk to the base. He struck out Park, but allowed Song Chan-ui to walk, causing the batter to hit the bases loaded with two outs. Lauer struck out Hong Chang-ki in the game, and was able to walk down the mound without losing a run.
The number of pitches accumulated by throwing 25 pitches in the third inning and 36 pitches in the fourth inning eventually rose to 97 at the end of the fourth inning.
KIA’s batting lineup succeeded in erasing the requirement for losing the game. In the top of the fifth inning, Na Sung-bum, who was the first batter, hit a tying solo shot to the top of the game against Son Joo-young, LG’s starting pitcher, resulting in a 1-1 balance. With the bases loaded with one outs including Lee Woo-sung’s hit, Byun Woo-hyuk’s walk, and Han Jun-su’s hit, Lauer, who was on the verge of losing, had a chance to win as Park Chan-ho’s sacrifice fly to the left field, secured a come-from-behind victory. However, as the number of pitches he pitched was already close to 100, it was unclear whether he would take the mound in the fifth inning.
Lauer took the mound again in the fifth inning and grounded out Shin Min-jae, the first batter, to shortstop. Austin was allowed to have a hit, but center fielder Socrates cleared Moon Bo-kyung’s deep hit, and Lauer completed the winning requirement by striking out Park Dong-won.
The batters responded again to Lauer’s fighting spirit. He scored nine points in the sixth inning alone, widening the gap to 11-1.
“I still can’t believe I won my first game. I’m so grateful to the coaching staff who trusted me until the end of the fifth inning,” Lauer said after the game. “I sent a message asking them to trust me again. I wanted to finish the game. I’m tired of throwing 108 pitches, but I think 80 or 120 pitches make me feel similar. I’m happy that I finished the game well.”
“I pitched mainly on fastballs and cutters to take John offensively. I focused on targeting John as much as possible with the rest of the pitches,” Lauer said. “I’m trying to focus on following the lead of experienced Kim Tae-gun or Han Jun-su.”