In May, he was reborn as an ace after dedicating a milestone and leading the team's first-place reversal

May 25, 2025

In May, he was reborn as an ace after dedicating a milestone and leading the team's first-place reversal
In the game between NC and LG at Jamsil Baseball Stadium on the 24th, NC Riley, with two outs and runners on first base, cheers LG Park Dong-won as a strikeout, not out in the bottom of the fourth inning. Jamsil= Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.04.24/



Homerun King The same pitcher who bowed his head after dedicating his 500th home run to Choi Jung. However, he has been reborn as an ace who leads his team's May drama rise.

NC Dinos foreign pitcher Riley Thompson has won seven games this season. Riley became the winning pitcher with five hits, four strikeouts, three walks and one run in six innings against the Doosan Bears at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 24th. NC was playing a tight 1-1 pitching match, but did not miss 'Wonchan' in the top of the sixth inning. Son Ah-seop's timely hit and Kwon Hee-dong's two-run home run against Doosan starter Choi Won-joon, who threw well. NC's batters, who added three runs in the sixth inning alone, made Riley a winning pitcher requirement.

It was smooth after the turnaround. Riley came down after recording 92 pitches, and key bullpen pitchers from Son Joo-hwan, Bae Jae-hwan, and Ryu Jin-wook pitched and blocked three scoreless innings. NC won the final score 5-1, winning three consecutive games, and Riley won seven games of the season.




It is already at the top of the league in the multiple wins category. Riley tied for third with Ryan Weiss (Hanwha) and Lim Chan-kyu (LG) for the most wins. With eight wins, it is just one win away from co-leading groups Park Se-woong (Lotte) and Cody Ponce (Hanwha).

In May, he was reborn as an ace after dedicating a milestone and leading the team's first-place reversal
The KBO League KT and NC match held at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on the 10th. NC Riley shares a high-five with teammates after pitching in the seventh inning. Suwon = Song Jeong-heon Reporter's songs@sportschosun.com/2025.04.10/
Riley, a power feature pitcher who throws a fastball in the mid-150km range, initially had high expectations for his second-line issuance. However, when I opened the lid, the power of the ball as a fireballer was powerful. Even at a time when Logan Allen, recruited by NC as a first-choice resource, was slowing down, Riley quickly got back on track.

Riley, who gave his team's first win by giving three runs (two earned) in five ⅓ innings against the KIA Tigers in his first appearance of the regular season, struggled against the LG Twins in his second appearance and suffered nine runs (six earned) in five ⅓ innings. In his third appearance, he was sluggish with five runs in four ⅓ innings against the Kiwoom Heroes, but he showed potential as a completely different pitcher from his fourth appearance.




On April 10, he allowed 14 strikeouts and no runs in seven innings against KT Wiz. As of that day, Riley recorded QS or higher in all but one game in eight games.

In May, he was reborn as an ace after dedicating a milestone and leading the team's first-place reversal
The match between SSG Landers and NC Dinos at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 13th. NC Kim Hyung-joon and Riley are talking. Incheon = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.05.13/
In particular, Riley was the pitcher who allowed Choi Jung to hit his 500th home run against SSG Landers on the 13th. Choi Jung did not receive attention because he set a milestone, but in fact, Riley left the mound in regret even though he pitched well with four hits (one home run), 10 strikeouts, one walk, and two runs in six innings.

And since then, he has won two consecutive games. In particular, he has a great strikeout pace. During the 26 innings he played in May, he struck out as many as 35 strikeouts. With three wins and no losses in four games in May and a 1.38 ERA, Riley is playing the role of NC's practical 'Ace' now in terms of performance and pressure.




The rise of NC is also led by Riley. NC ranks first in monthly team performance with 13 wins, 2 draws and 5 losses in May with a winning rate of 0.722. In terms of May's performance, NC is ahead of LG, Lotte, and Hanwha, which are currently classified as 3 strongest. In the 11 games Riley has pitched this year, NC has won eight times. Only 20 days ago, NC, which had been in ninth place among the 10 teams until May 5, was reborn as a team with a 50% winning rate 'plus' that threatens the top teams. The stability of the pitching staff, centered on Riley, is having a great effect.



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.