KBO League 4th year’ David Buchanan (Samsung Lions) successfully completed the last inspection before the start of the regular season.
Buchanan took the mound as a starting pitcher in an away game against the Doosan Bears in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO demonstration game held at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on the afternoon of the 25th, and recorded 5 ⅓ innings, 4 hits, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts and no runs. The team won 5-3 and maintained its lead by winning 7 consecutive victories in demonstration games.
Buchanan, who had a head-to-head confrontation with Park Shin-ji, left satisfactory content in the third appearance of the demonstration game. In the match against SSG Landers on the 13th and the match against kt Wiz on the 18th, we played 3 innings each, but in the game that day, as it was the ‘last rehearsal’, we spread the ball for more innings.
The start of Buchanan, who was not shaken even after being allowed to go on base,
was at stake. In the bottom of the first inning, lead hitter Jeong Su-bin grounded, shortstop Kim Jae-sang made a mistake, and follow-up hitter José Rojas got on base with a hit. However, Buchanan, who continued pitching calmly, turned 1st and 2nd baseman Kang Seung-ho into double play. After Kim Jae-hwan’s walk, he induced Yang Seok-hwan to strike out on a swing, ending the inning with a scoreless run.
At the end of the second inning, Heo Gyeong-min, Kim Min-hyuk, and Jang Seung-hyeon were eliminated. Not only fastballs, but also curveballs and changeups were mixed evenly to confuse hitters. Second baseman Kang Han-wool, who saved Kim Min-hyuk’s fast batted ball with a jump catch, also shined.
Buchanan’s scoreless march continued into the bottom of the third. After the first out, Sue-bin was allowed an infield hit, but Rojas and Kang Seung-ho were turned into a fly ball and a ground ball, respectively. In particular, Rojas, who had been hit by an advantageous ball count in the previous at-bat, was caught with a floating ball, alleviating the disappointment at the end of the first inning.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, when the lead batter went to base for the first time since the bottom of the first inning, Buchanan sighed with two fly balls from first base. Kim Min-hyeok’s walk resulted in 2 outs, 1st and 2nd base, but he struck out once again to Jang Seung-hyun, who struck out in the first at-bat.
After one out in the bottom of the 5th inning, Buchanan, who had nothing special except for Su-bin’s infield hit, headed to the mound in the bottom of the 6th inning. Even though there was already movement in the bullpen, he was responsible for the match against lead hitter Kim Jae-hwan. After Kim Jae-hwan’s ground ball, a replacement signal was sent to the referee. The number of pitches was 77. Samsung fans sitting in the third base crowd gave a standing ovation to Buchanan, who threw a scoreless pitch.
Buchanan , the No. 1 starting pitcher that Samsung believes in this year as well,
was Buchanan, the player who cut off the ‘foreign pitcher brutality’ in the Samsung mound, which had not been able to find an ace for a while. Since entering the KBO League in 2020, he recorded an average ERA of 3.20 with 42 wins and 20 losses in 83 games and 511⅔ innings for three seasons, achieving double-digit multipliers for three consecutive years.
Last season, he went 11-8 with an ERA of 3.04 in 26 games and 160 innings. It wasn’t bad at first glance, but it wasn’t that there wasn’t an element of anxiety at all. fewer innings than in his previous two seasons. It is also noteworthy that detailed indicators such as hit rate and on-base percentage per inning (WHIP) have risen.
However, Samsung decided to accompany Buchanan, who had kept the mound for three years, for one more season. There was a belief that he was a ‘proven pitcher’. Even if a new foreign pitcher was recruited, it could not be guaranteed that a pitcher who would surpass Buchanan would come. 카지노사이트
His preparation for the season was not bad. He slowly found stability as he played game after game. Most of all, it is encouraging that he improved his physical condition closer to the regular season in his last appearance in the exhibition game.
As long as there are no variables, it is certain that Buchanan will start in the regular season opener against the NC Dinos, which will be held on April 1 at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu. In 2021, it is 3 years in a row after last year. Attention is focusing on whether he will show his true value once again, starting the season as the first starter this year.