Kiwoom’s foreign pitcher Ian McKinney started Game 9 of the season against Doosan in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 7th and lost his second game of the season (1 win) despite six innings of five hits, three 토토체험머니 walks, two strikeouts and two runs.
McKinney played two games in Gocheok Dome alone since his KBO League debut and came out outdoors for the first time. His crisis management skills stood out at the beginning of the game. In the first inning when it was 0-0, Kim Jae-ho hit to the left and Yang Eui-ji hit a double to get to second and third base with two outs, but Jose Rojas hit a fly ball to center field, and after two outs in the second inning, the scoring crisis was overcome by Jang Seung-hyun’s double.
McKinney dedicated the first run in the third inning. He handled leader Jung Soo-bin, who hit an infield hit, as a checker, but gave up walks to Kim Jae-ho and Yang Eui-ji, bringing in two outs and runners on first and second base, and met Rojas and allowed an RBI double to the left-center. The continuous crisis of two outs and runners on second and third bases overcame Kang Seung-ho with a fly ball to center field.
McKinney gave up an extra run, trailing 0-1 following his first three-way retirement in the fourth inning. The walk was the cause of trouble again this time. After walking the leadoff Jung Soo-bin on base, he committed a wild pitch with two outs and third base, facing a sacrifice bunt and a hit.
McKinney, who also took the mound in the sixth inning, trailing 0-2, met Rojas, Kang Seung-ho, and Hong Sung-ho and played three innings in the 11th inning. He hit a frightening foul home run by the first batter Rojas, but achieved a quality start for two consecutive games without shaking.
There was no support for scoring despite his good pitching. McKinney was replaced by Ha Young-min in the seventh inning, trailing 0-2. The number of pitches was 96. The team lost 0-4 and the second loss of the season was confirmed.
McKinney, who was selected as a substitute foreign pitcher for Eric Yokishi, signed a contract with Kiwoom for a total of $185,000 (about 200 million won) on the 16th of last month. He became a losing pitcher with two runs in four innings against Doosan Bears in Gocheok on June 25, his debut match, but won the game against SSG in Gocheok on July 1 with six scoreless innings.
According to Kiwoom officials, McKinney gave 70 cups of coffee to the coaching staff and players to commemorate his first win before the match. McKinney said, “The team members helped in defense and offense, and they were able to achieve their first win because they protected them in the bullpen. I bought coffee to thank my team members and to cheer up together. “As the weather was hot, I made it with iced coffee,” he said sincerely.
However, the batters who drank coffee did not add strength to McKinney’s good pitching. Doosan’s starter Kwak Bin, Kim Myung-shin, Park Chi-guk, and Kim Kang-ryul failed to target the Doosan mound, and McKinney suffered their second loss of the season.