The bullpen was the problem again this time. Despite the good pitching of ‘Ace’ David Buchanan, the Samsung Lions suffered defeat due to their bullpen collapsing.
Samsung lost 1-8 in the 14th game between the teams and the NC Dinos of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League held at NC Park in Changwon on the 15th. The two-game winning streak was halted, and the season record was 53 wins, 1 draw, and 70 losses. They were the only team this season with a superior record against NC, but ended up tied with 7 wins and 7 losses.
Buchanan pitched well in 6 innings, allowing 3 hits, 3 walks, and 2 runs (1 earned run)안전놀이터, but the bullpen team that came up one after another gave up a large number of runs. Choi Chae-heung, who moved from starting pitcher to bullpen and made his first appearance, also performed poorly, allowing 1 hit, 1 walk, and 2 runs in 1⅓ innings. Choi Ha-neul also struggled, allowing 2 hits, 1 home run, 1 walk, and 4 runs in ⅔ innings, including a home run with the bases loaded.
Choi Chae-heung also performed well, but ended up conceding a goal. Choi Chae-heung, who took the mound in the 7th inning with the team slightly behind 1-2, got off to a refreshing start by catching leadoff hitter Kim Joo-won with a fly ball to left field. He ended the inning with a three-way throw, setting up Ahn Jung-yeol with a grounder to third base and Son Ah-seop with a grounder to shortstop.
But the 8th inning was a problem. Leadoff hitter Han Seok-hyun was grounded out in front of the pitcher, but Park Min-woo hit a triple in the middle of the month. Choi Chae-heung sent out Jason Martin with an automatic intentional fourth pitch and handed the mound to Choi Ha-neul. Choi Ha-neul allowed Kwon Hee-dong to bunt, and as the runner on third base hit home, Choi Chae-heung’s runs increased. Kwon Hee-dong also reached base through a fielder’s choice, putting Samsung in a continued crisis.
Choi Ha-neul continued to shake. He gave up a walk to Do Tae-hoon and faced the risk of the bases being loaded. He induced a ground ball to Seo Ho-cheol, but the batted ball hit the pitcher and deflected, resulting in an infield hit. Choi Ha-neul conceded one more point. In the end, Kim Joo-won hit a grand slam and collapsed.
The weakest bullpen in the league brought defeat again. Before today’s game, the average ERA of Samsung’s bullpen was 5.18, the worst performance among the 10 teams in the KBO League. There were many games where victory was lost, and this was the biggest reason why Samsung fell to the bottom of the rankings.
Reserve Choi Chae-heung, who received a failing grade as a starting pitcher, also failed to show an impressive pitch in his first game as a bullpen pitcher. Choi Chae-heung, who showed potential as a starting pitcher at Sangmu, took on the role of Samsung’s fifth starter after being discharged from the military. However, he performed poorly with 6 losses and an ERA of 7.59 in 12 games, and was eventually left out of the starting rotation.
Choi Ha-neul, who was received from the Lotte Giants when trading Lee Hak-ju, has not yet lived up to expectations. In the 2nd team, he had decent results with 17 games, 6 wins, 3 losses, and an average ERA of 2.45, but before today’s game, in the 1st team, he was very poor with 2 games, 2 losses, and an average ERA of 15.88.
It was a game where Ace Buchanan’s good pitching was overshadowed. Because the bullpen gave up a large number of runs, the mood quickly shifted to NC, and the batting line was no longer able to show its strength. Can Samsung solve its bullpen problems before the end of the season?