Eric Jokish (35) of the NC Dinos, who suffered a shock in his return match to the KBO League. Will he be able to save the team that fell after losing consecutive home games.스포츠토토
Yokishi will take the mound as NC’s starting pitcher in the home game of the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League regular season against SSG Landers at Changwon NC Park on the 15th.
Initially, NC announced right-hander Kim Si-hoon as the starting pitcher for the Friday game. However, the game was canceled due to unexpected rain, and the plan was changed. After a meeting with the coaching staff, the team decided to take the mound as a starting pitcher on Friday as planned.
This is Yokishi’s second game this season. After releasing Daniel Castano, NC signed a contract worth 100,000 U.S. dollars for the rest of the year. “After considering multiple candidates including Yokishi, we have decided that Yokishi is the best among the players who can come to Korea the fastest in the current foreign market,” said Lim Seon-nam, NC’s general manager.
Yokishi is already a player with KBO league experience. After joining the Kiwoom Heroes in 2019, he led his team to the Korean Series with 13 wins, 9 losses and a 3.13 ERA in his first season. He then topped the list in 2020 with a 2.14 ERA, and the following year, he won 16 games to become the most prolific winner. Released in 2023 due to a ruptured left adductor muscle, he will return to the Korean stage for the first time in a year.
Although he had high expectations, his first appearance was disappointing. He started the game against the LG Twins in Jamsil on the 9th, but allowed eight hits and two walks against 13 batters from the first inning to give up as many as 10 runs. It didn’t collapse much after that, but he ended his first appearance by allowing eight hits (two homers), four walks, two strikeouts and 10 runs in three ⅔ innings. His ERA was 24.55.
NC manager Kang In-kwon (52) said of Yokishi’s pitch, “I think I was embarrassed because I was hit so hard in the first inning.” He also said, “The ball speed was not as fast as before. The movement of the breaking ball and the two-seam fastball was good, but the ball speed dropped,” adding, “I will be able to accurately judge when I take the mound next time.”
Amid sluggish performance in its first game, the NC Dinosaurs started revising how to deploy the team. Initially, Kang was scheduled to deploy him as a four-day turner after consulting with the team. However, Kang said, “I will pitch as a five-day turner and then talk to him again. If I think I have difficulties, I think I should keep the date.”
NC’s current situation is desperate for Yokishi’s good pitching. As of the 14th, NC has a season record of 49 wins, 57 losses and two draws (0.462 win rate). On the day when NC was canceled due to rain, which lost six consecutive games, the Lotte Giants won and NC fell to eighth place. This was the first time this season. The team, which was ranked second until May 17, fell six places in three months.
The starting lineup also had difficulties. Shin Min-hyuk, the first Korean starter, has skipped the mound due to elbow discomfort, and even ace Kyle Hart has not been on the mound for more than 15 days due to cold. As a result, substitute starters Choi Sung-young, Lee Yong-joon, and Mok Ji-hoon did not display good performance.
In response, NC desperately needs experienced Yokishi’s good pitching. Earlier, when releasing Castano, Lim said, “I was thinking about whether I could reinforce my power even a little bit to continue the fight against the semifinals, but I thought this was the best card I could use, so I proceeded with it.” As it is still four games apart from fifth-ranked SSG, Yokishi’s shoulders have become heavy at a time when it is too early to give up.