Will Eric Pedi, who has become the best foreign ace in the KBO League this year, be able to save the NC Dinos in crisis.
Pedi will start the 2023 professional baseball KBO League away game against Kiwoom Heroes at Gocheok Sky Dome in Guro-gu, Seoul on the 5th.
NC is in crisis as it has recently been hampered by a series of departures of starting resources. Koo Chang-mo, a native left-hander ace who 메이저사이트 was out of power due to damage to his left forearm flexor muscle, has been delayed from the end of the first half to the second half, and left-hander Choi Sung-young, who was doing his part, is also being treated amid bad luck of being hit in the face by a ball on the 20th of last month.
On top of that, right-hander sidearm Lee Jae-hak, who showed his veteran dignity by joining the first division in mid-May after building himself in the Futures League at the beginning of the season, also suffered a left foot fracture No. 1 metatarsal fracture on the 22nd of last month. In addition, right-hander Young-gun Lee Yong-joon, who had been consistently in the starting rotation, went down to the second division due to reorganization, causing the starting lineup to collapse.
As the starting lineup was shaken like this, it returned to a vicious cycle of overloading the bullpen. In the match against Kiwoom in Gocheok on the 4th, when starter Lee Joon-ho (2.2 innings, 4 runs and 1 earned run) was substituted early, Ha Joon-young (0.1 innings), Jeon Sa-min (2 innings), Kim Young-kyu (1 inning, 1 inning), Cho Min-seok (1 inning, 1 inning), Lim Jung-ho (0 innings, 2 runs), and Bae Min-seo (1 inning) took the mound, but failed to prevent additional runs and lost four consecutive losses.
To make matters worse, NC is currently in a somewhat chaotic atmosphere as its main outfielder Park Kun-woo, who is known to have recently acted out of the One-Team spirit, is excluded from the first-tier entry on the 3rd.
In this situation, the best solution is a pleasant victory. And to this end, NC will put Pedi, the most reliable starting resource, on the mound of Gocheok Sky Dome on the 5th.
Pedi, who was nominated by the Washington Nationals in the 2014 rookie draft, debuted in the U.S. Major League Baseball (MLB) in the 2017 season and played until last year. His career record in the big leagues is 21 wins, 33 losses and a 5.41 ERA in 102 games (454.1 innings).
Pedi, who joined hands with NC ahead of this season, is literally conquering the KBO League with 11 wins, 1 loss and a 1.74 ERA in 13 games (78.1 innings) this year. Recently, he groaned due to a right forearm flexor sprain injury, but showed off his robustness with six innings, one hit, one walk, six strikeouts, and no runs in the game against the Doosan Bears (4-1 NC win) in Jamsil on the 28th of last month.
NC, which lost its 35th (36 wins and 1 draw) due to its defeat against Kiwoom in Gocheok on the 4th, fell into a swamp of four consecutive losses, and is tied for third with the Lotte Giants (36 wins and 35 losses). Attention is focusing on whether Pedi will be able to save NC, which is in such a clear crisis by showing good pitching.
