Samsung Lions Taylor Widener played his second game in a Samsung uniform at LAPAC.
Widener started the 13th game 메이저사이트 of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League against the Kiwoom Heroes at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on Friday.
Widener replaced Albert Suarez, who was sidelined with an injury. He was also called up by Samsung after being released by the NC Dinos and donned the blue jersey. Prior to this game, Widener was 5-3 with a 4.24 ERA in 13 games in the KBO this season, including a 1-1 record with Samsung.
Samsung manager Park Jin-man was positive about the starters’ performance, saying, “The starters are rebounding in the second half as they find stability.”
Widener also got off to a good start in the first inning. He struck out Song Sung-moon and Kim Hye-sung with consecutive swinging strikes. He gave up a double to Ronnie Dawson, but got Kim to fly out to center field.
In the second inning, however, they faltered. Leadoff hitter Lee Ju-hyung was hit by a pitch. A sacrifice bunt by Joo Sung-won put runners on first and second, and then he got Lim Byung-wook to fly out to third for the second out. But he gave up a two-run homer to Kim Soo-hwan over the right field fence, and then back-to-back singles to Kim Xiang and Song Sung-moon. The hunch wasn’t wrong. He gave up back-to-back singles to Kim and Dawson. It didn’t end there. Kim Hwijip followed with a two-run double. The bats were finally in order.
They settled down in the third inning. With seven pitches, he struck out Lim Byung-wook, Kim Soo-hwan, and Kim Xiang. In the fourth, they gave up a walk to Dawson with two outs, but no runs.
However, he couldn’t get through the fifth inning. He walked leadoff hitter Lee Joo-hyung on a 10-pitch pitch to shortstop. He gave up a single to Joo Sung-won, a walk to Lim Byung-wook, and finally a single to Kim Xiang to put his head down. Pitching coach Kwon Oh-jun came up and opted to make a change. Hong Jung-woo came on and didn’t allow any more runs, and Widener didn’t score.
On the day, Widener gave up seven runs on 11 hits (one home run) in 4.2 innings with two walks and five strikeouts. It was his most runs allowed in a single game since June 6 against Samsung on June 6 while with the NC. Most innings pitched in a single game.
He threw 99 pitches on the day. Sliders were the most common with 39. Followed by 34 fastballs, 15 changeups, and 11 sinkers/two-seamers. His fastball reached 151 kilometers.
Widener, who pitched six innings of five-hit, seven-strikeout ball against KIA in his first start in a Samsung uniform on Aug. 18, had his head down today.
It was hoped that he would fill the void left by Suarez’s injury, but so far it hasn’t been enough. In three starts since joining the club, he is 1-2 with a 5.71 ERA. He’s allowed a whopping 1.67 runs per inning. Will he be able to smile in his next game?