94 pitches until the 5th inning → Responsibility to take the mound in the 6th inning, praise from the head coach...Riley, who completed 108 pitches + 9K, was rewarded with the most wins
Jun 25, 2025
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Riley started against the Lotte Giants at Changwon NC Park on the 25th. He threw 94 pitches until the fifth inning, but he also took the mound in the sixth inning. And he completed the task given to him with a total of 108 pitches.
The sixth inning has a special meaning for the starting pitcher. The standard for winning pitchers is five times, but the standard for quality starts (more than six innings and less than three earned runs) is six times. Foreign pitchers who serve as pillars for each team are required to be inningsers responsible for an average of more than six innings.
Riley was one stroke away from here. Until the 25th, he played in 15 games, starting and 89 ⅓ innings, recording 9 wins, 4 losses and an ERA of 3.12.
The performance is consistent, but the average is slightly below six innings. It has shown stable pitching every game since the end of April, but there are three games that collapsed significantly from March to April.
The first inning was clean with a three-way error. He threw 15 pitches, five pitches each to the three batters.
He gave up the first run in the second inning. Lotte's leadoff hitter Jeon Joon-woo allowed a double to the right-center, and allowed a run due to his throwing error when Han Tae-yang grounded out a pitcher with two outs and third base. The ensuing crisis with two outs and runners on first and second bases was well prevented, but he threw 25 pitches in the second inning alone.
The third inning was a three-way strikeout and even three consecutive strikeouts. However, he also threw a total of 17 pitches, including 7 pitches to Kim Dong-hyuk and 6 pitches to Ko Seung-min in the process.
NC followed one point in the bottom of the third inning, but immediately gave up the lead again in the top of the fourth inning. After one out, Lotte's Kim Min-sung hit a right-handed hit after a full count match of nine pitches, and Na Seung-yeop immediately hit an RBI triple on the right-wing line to bring in Kim Min-sung. However, Riley struck out the remaining two batters. A total of 27 balls were consumed in the process.
He struck out three times in a row, including Jeon Min-jae, the first batter in the fifth inning. In the fifth inning, Kim Dong-hyuk and Ko Seung-min handled them quickly, reducing the number of pitches as much as possible.
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However, did NC manager Lee Ho-joon demand responsibility like a foreign pitcher. The player himself cannot help but be aware of his 2% disappointment.
Riley also took the mound in the top of the sixth inning. Again, a shortstop error came out when leadoff hitter Reyes batted, and he faced a crisis of second base with no outs.
However, Jeon Joon-woo and Kim Min-sung were all thrown out of the infield, and Na Seung-yeop struck out to end the sixth inning.
The reward of throwing one more inning at the moment of the crisis of replacement was also clear. NC succeeded in turning the game around 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning, giving Riley the winning pitcher.
In addition, he added one more point in the seventh inning and three more points in the eighth inning to win the game 7-2. It was a five-point difference, but Ryu Jin-wook, the closer, was put in to finish the game with certainty.
Riley has won 10 games this season, and will be at the top of the competition for the most wins with Hanwha Eagles Ponce (10 wins).
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
