Sean Anderson (29) of the KIA Tigers started against the Kiwoom Heroes of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at Gocheok Sky Dome on Thursday. He pitched seven innings, allowing two runs on five hits and no walks while striking out nine. It was a Quality Start Plus (7 innings pitched with 3 earned runs or less). Although KIA lost 1-2, Anderson accomplished his task perfectly.
Anderson was sent to the Futures League after his poor performance. He seems to be stabilizing a bit. In his last start, on August 8 against the Gwangju SSG Landers, he allowed three runs on five hits with two walks and five strikeouts in 5⅓ innings. However, the manager isn’t so quick to judge Anderson’s rebound after just one game. He wanted to see him pitch well in two consecutive games before giving him the benefit of the doubt.
Before the game, Kim Jong-kook said, 메이저사이트 “Anderson needs to go at least six innings. But he did better than before he went down to the Futures League. He can’t do it again today. If he pitches like he did in the last game, he should be able to go at least six innings.” He hoped that Anderson would show a good performance.
And Anderson lived up to his manager’s faith. In the first inning, he struck out Kim Jun-wan, got Kim Hye-sung to fly out to shortstop, and got Lee Jung-hoo to ground out in front of the pitcher to end the inning with a triple play. In the second inning, he gave up a single to Lim Byung-wook, but kept the Kiwoom bats in check without allowing a run.
Anderson kept the Kiwoom bats in check in the third inning with a mix of fastballs and changeups that reached the mid-90s. He struck out Lee Ji-young and Lee Won-seok and got Kim Jun-wan to ground out to third base.
In the fourth inning, they gave up a run. With a 1-0 lead, they gave up the tying run. Anderson led off the inning with a triple to left-center off a 146 mph fastball from Lee Jung-hoo. He then gave up a single up the middle to Edison Russell for the first run of the game.
Anderson quickly retired the side in order in the fifth. In the sixth inning, she struck again. The leadoff hitter, Kim Hye-sung, hit a triple to right-center field. The next batter, Lee Jung-hoo, flied out to right field, but it didn’t prevent Kim Hye-sung from coming home. Despite the loss of the lead, Anderson got the next batter, Russell, to ground out to shortstop and Lim Byung-wook to strike out.
In the seventh inning, Anderson didn’t allow any more runs. He walked the leadoff batter, Lee Hyung-jong, but got Song Sung-moon on a foul fly, Lim Jiyeol-ul on a fly ball to right field, and Lee Won-seok on a strikeout to end the game.
Anderson has exceeded expectations. In April, Anderson went 3-2 with a 2.58 ERA in six games. He struggled in May with a 4-3 record and a 7.71 ERA, but is showing signs of rebounding in June with a 2-1 record and a 3.65 ERA. What must have been going through Kim’s mind as he watched from the dugout?
