“In baseball, there’s always a moment when you think, ‘I’m good,’ and then something happens. The opponent always tries to take advantage of that.”
A series of fielding errors shook the ace, who boasted a one-run ERA. The scoreboard, however, showed a “0” for error.먹튀검증
He started seven games in the second half, averaging more than six innings per outing, and went 3-1 with a salty 1.69 ERA. Five quality starts. He never allowed more than three earned runs before the fifth inning. He was nicknamed “Jesus the Resignation” because of his fluttering long hair and dazzling performance.
On the 5th, against the Samsung Lions in Ulsan. The mighty Wilkerson faltered, unable to overcome a series of defensive lapses.
Wilkerson ended the first inning with a three-run double play. Lotte took a 4-0 lead in the top of the first on a three-run home run by Yoo Kang-nam.
The top of the second inning was also perfect. Samsung’s third batter, Ryu Ji-hyuk, hit a sharp line drive to left field. It would have been a one-base hit, but Lotte left fielder Hwang Sung-bin was more adventurous. He attempted a diving catch in front of the plate.
Unfortunately, the ball bounded in front of him, hit his glove and bounced sideways, allowing Ryu Ji-hyuk to run to second base. The scorekeeper recorded a double to left field with no errors.
Commentator Park Jae-hong disagreed, saying, “I can understand it. There’s a score difference, and it’s two outs. Hwang Sung-bin must have been confident in himself, so he came in boldly.” However, he also said, “The bottom line is that it was unreasonable. What was supposed to be a single became a double,” he criticized.
The anxiety became a reality. The next batter, Lee Jae-hyun, hit a single up the middle. Park pointed out that “the defense, which was supposed to put runners on second and first, gave up one run on a single.”
Another fielding error came in the top of the fifth inning when Lotte took a 5-1 lead. Wilkerson struck out pinch-hitter Kim Dong-jin with runners on first and second, then induced the next batter, Kim Hyun-jun, to hit a hard grounder to second base. It was a fastball that even the speedy Kim had no trouble handling.
However, shortstop Noh Jin-hyuk didn’t handle the ball quickly enough and Kim was safe at first base. His foot got slightly caught on the second base, causing him to miss the ball slightly, and his throw to first base was late. This was followed by Kim Hyun-joon’s stolen base and Kim Sung-yoon’s two-run triple, and Wilkerson’s ERA quickly increased to three.
It was a disappointing defense that clearly took away from the pitcher. Wilkerson’s reputed calmness allowed him to finish the fifth inning without allowing another run, but it was a series of mistakes that would have caused any other pitcher to suddenly collapse. Wilkerson’s pitch count spiked.
In neither case was an error recorded. “In the second inning and the fifth inning, the inning didn’t end in time and they gave up runs,” Park said. “Lotte is the second team with the least number of errors, so it’s a numerical error. In my experience, they don’t have a lot of defense in both the infield and outfield. There are many pitfalls (errors) that are not recorded,” he said.