NC pushed KIA, whose game was canceled due to rain on the same day, and moved one step up from fifth to fourth place. In addition, he continued his strong side by winning five consecutive games against Kiwoom from the Gocheok game on July 6. Since the match against Hanwha on the 17th of last month, he has won five consecutive home games, giving home fans the joy of victory.
Above all, the most welcome thing for NC is that Pedi has regained his form.
Pedi, who had been playing as the league’s best foreign player with 14 wins, 2 losses and a 1.74 ERA in 17 games until July, slowed down by allowing a large number of runs in August.
He was hit hard by nine hits, one home run, one walk, two strikeouts and five runs in four innings against Lotte on the 2nd, the beginning of August, and collapsed with eight hits, three walks and seven runs in three innings against KIA on the 31st. This is Pedi’s record for the least innings and most runs this season.
But as soon as September began, Pedi was again worthy of his name. It achieved a quality start plus in its first game in September. 스포츠토토
On this day, Pedi tied Kiwoom’s batters tightly without a major crisis. He struck out every inning and turned Kiwoom batters around. He kept the mound until the seventh inning with only 97 pitches. He threw two-seam fastballs (37), curves (35), changeups (11), and cutters (10) of up to 155km evenly.
Thanks to this, only two points were enough for the NC lineup. Kiwoom starter Ian McKinney also faced Peddy without losing a point until the fifth inning, but NC Park Kun-woo shot a two-run home run in the sixth inning, breaking the tight 0 balance. Closer Lee Yong-chan allowed one point, but managed to keep one step without losing an additional point.
Pedi also led the competition for the title with the victory. His ERA dropped from 2.39 to 2.28, surpassing Doosan’s Raul Alcantara (2.37) and Kiwoom’s Ahn Woo-jin (2.39).
He also secured his 17th win (6 losses) of the season in multiple wins. He struck out as many as 11 on the day, narrowing the gap with Ahn Woo-jin (164 strikeouts), the No. 1 player in the category, to four. Ahn Woo-jin has already been out of the season due to an injury. If Pedi adds only five strikeouts, he will also be able to win the first place in this category.
If he wins the first place with an ERA, multiple wins, and strikeouts, he will achieve a triple crown as a pitcher. After Sun Dong-yeol (1986, 1989-1991), Ryu Hyun-jin (2006), and Yoon Seok-min (2011), he can be listed as the fourth pitcher to achieve the record. The triple crown is the first record in terms of foreign pitchers alone. If Pedi achieves all of this, he will also be one step ahead of the regular season MVP competition.