“Aggressive pitching is encouraging”
The Samsung Lions were forced to make a foreign substitution in the second half of the season, as longtime patriarch Albert Suarez, a right-handed pitcher from Venezuela, was sidelined for four weeks with a calf injury. Samsung eventually decided to part ways with Suarez and brought in Taylor Widener, who was released from the NC Dinos.
His first game in a Samsung uniform. Manager Park Jin-man was pleased with Widener’s pitching. On the 13th, Widener made a start against the Incheon SSG and went 6⅔ innings, allowing 10 hits, one walk, four runs, and two strikeouts. He only threw 82 pitches that day. You could say that he pitched aggressively and didn’t run away from batters. Although he gave up several hits, it’s encouraging that he didn’t walk any batters.
Park, who met with the media before the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League game against the LG Twins at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on May 15, was also pleased with Widener’s aggressive pitching. He said, “Widener pitched his first game for a new team. I’m sure there was pressure on him. He got a lot of hits, but that’s better than giving up a walk. I pitched aggressively. It’s important not to give up a hit,” he said, smiling with satisfaction.
“In general, it’s better to get a hit than to give up a walk. If you give up a lot of hits, your pitch count goes up and you don’t have a long inning. It also takes away from the focus of the hitters, which is bad for the team. This is something that Park has noticed. “Getting hit actually makes the batters more focused. Widener’s pitching is positive in that regard.”
However, he needs to work on his slide step. Widener has a slow slide step, which makes it difficult for him to keep runners on base. Even if he gets a single against the previous batter, he often gives up a run-scoring opportunity against the next batter. 메이저놀이터
“I need to correct my kick motion,” Park said. It’s in season, but you have to try to fix it. It’s better to make a change than to keep getting beaten. Leaving runners in scoring position is a definite loss,” Park said, pointing out Widener’s improvement.
Widener hasn’t pitched since March 3 against Lotte while with the NC. It had been ten days since his last start, which could have caused him to lose some of his edge. However, Widener’s performance exceeded expectations. “I was in a situation where I could have lost some game sense,” Park said. I substituted him early because I was thinking about the next game. I thought he might be tired, so I had to change him for the flow,” Park said, adding that he hopes Widener will continue to perform well.
With the addition of Widener, Samsung has filled the void of a foreign pitcher and plans to use a four-man rotation of David Buchanan, Tae-in Won, Jung-hyun Baek, and Widener for the time being. If Widener continues to perform well, Samsung’s starting rotation could stabilize.
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