SSG Landers Roenis Elias struggled against the Lotte Giants at Sajik Stadium in Busan on April 15, giving up three runs in four innings. Hoping to bounce back in his next start, Elias turned to manager Kim Won-hyung and asked for one thing.
Elias turned things around in a home game against the top-ranked LG Twins at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on April 20, allowing one run on four hits over eight innings. SSG snapped a five-game losing streak with a 2-1 victory thanks to Elias’ performance. Elias picked up his sixth win of the season (five starts).
Elias arrived in South Korea in May as a replacement for Annie Romero, who was sidelined with a shoulder injury. He didn’t quite fill the void left by Romero. After going 3-1 with a 2.42 ERA in her first four starts, she struggled in her next eight, going 2-4 with a 5.14 ERA. After averaging six and a third innings per game, he has dropped to five in the last two months.
Manager Kim Won-hyung also expressed his disappointment with the third pitch and the number of innings pitched.
Elias pitched a personal minimum of four innings against Lotte on May 15. He threw 86 pitches. The early demotion of a foreign pitcher, coupled with the fact that he is scheduled to pitch twice a week, cannot be ignored.
After the game, Elias sought out manager Kim Won-hyung and asked him to “travel to Incheon first so I can work out.” SSG was scheduled to play a three-game series against LG in Incheon on the 18th after finishing a three-game road trip on the 17th. He was looking forward to training on a familiar home field while staying with his family. Elias promised to “prepare hard for four days,” and Kim accepted. Even for a foreign player, such a move is rare. A club official said, “The coaching staff accepted Elias’ request considering the hot weather along with his twice-weekly pitching schedule.”
Elias repaid the faith of the bench. On the 20th against LG, he pitched his best game since his KBO debut. He pitched eight innings, more than his previous career high of seven. It was a four-hitter. Threw 104 pitches. Lowered his season ERA from 4.10 to 3.79.
“I was up to 93 pitches in the sixth, but I wanted to go one more inning, and I could see the bullpen had been overloaded lately and was getting tired. I wanted to pitch into the eighth inning and give them a little bit of a break,” he said, “I wanted to go as hard as I could.”스포츠토토
Manager Kim Won-hyung, who was pleased with Elias’ performance, said, “Elias pitched his best game. It could have been a tough outing for him with the team on a losing streak, but he pitched aggressively and kept the long innings to a minimum,” he said.
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