Six wins, one win for Tolhurst, and the importance of foreign pitchers that Velazquez showed again. Farming will be decided in August
Sep 28, 2025
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The fate of the two was completely different. After switching from Hernandez to Tolhurst, LG rose further and eventually came to the regular league championship Magic Number 1. Lotte's team has been on the decline since the change, and it came from third place to the verge of elimination from the semifinals.
This is an example that clearly proves the importance of foreign pitchers. And it can be said that it shows how carefully the replacement of foreign pitchers should be decided.
Let's take a look at LG. LG ranked second and started to gain momentum in late July. Then, on August 3, he announced that he would break up with Hernandez and sign Tolhurst. On the 2nd, the previous day, Hernandez became the winning pitcher with six innings of two hits and one run against Samsung, but he had already decided to change it, and just in time, a good pitcher came out and signed a contract, making a replacement.
Hernandez took six weeks off from injury and threw 14 games to post a 4-4 瑢Α?4.23. He pitched 66 innings, and the hit rate was good at 219, and the on-base allowance per inning (WHIP) was good at 1.17, but the disadvantage of throwing well and suddenly collapsing after the batting order turned around, eventually leaving Korea.
Alternative pitcher Tolhurst completely filled Hernandez's regret. He showed impact with seven scoreless innings from his first appearance and immediately won four consecutive games. Although it collapsed at the beginning of the two games, the most important thing was to lead the team to victory with two runs in six innings against Hanwha on the 27th, clearly showing the role of the ace. He is 6-2 with a 2.86 ERA in eight games. In particular, he played a lot of innings for LG, who had a weak bullpen, making it clear that he would increase the speed of the championship.
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Lotte is the opposite. Davison left the team with a 10-5 record and 3.65 ERA in 22 games. Although he took a lot of victory, he was disappointed that he lacked innings, so he tried to change to a fastball pitcher like Gamboa, who became a successful replacement case, and recruited Velazquez. At the time of the replacement, Lotte was in third place with 58 wins, 3 draws and 45 losses. There was a five-game gap with the fourth-place SSG, and it was four games apart from the first-place Hanwha, so Velazquez was a winning move to reach the first place.
However, Velazquez was disappointed. He started six games and lost one win, four losses, and a 10.50 ERA. Whenever Velazquez lost, I couldn't help but think of Davison, who pitched well even five innings and followed Seung-woon.
Strangely, Lotte's losing streak began on the 7th, when Velazquez was announced, and it has passed to 12 consecutive losses. And the slump continued in September, and he was worried about being eliminated from the 5th round, but now he is ahead of the elimination of the 5th round. Since the announcement of Velazquez's recruitment, Lotte has recorded eight wins, three draws and 24 losses. The winning rate is only 25 percent, the last place overall.
The contrast between the two teams, which replaced foreign pitchers by only four days, was so sharply divided. LG, ranked second, is on the verge of winning, and Lotte, ranked third, is on the verge of elimination from the semifinals.
This is a clear example of how changing foreign pitchers has a great impact on the team. It's a decision that has to stake the team's performance.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
