When Lotte foreign pitcher Dan Straley (35) was sluggish at the beginning of the season, Lotte coach Larry Sutton embraced him as “Straley is a slow starter.” He originally believed that the pace was slow, so he would find his skills if he waited.
Strayley posted a 5.82 ERA in just 21⅔ innings in five games in April. He had only two losses without a win, and there was not a single quality start (less than 3 earned runs over 6 innings starting). Rather, there were only three games in which he failed to pitch five innings. It was one cause of Lotte’s bullpen consumption at the beginning of the season.
It seemed to come alive in May. Despite losing against Doosan on the 9th, he recorded his first quality start of the season with 2 runs in 6 innings, and against kt on the 14th, he won his first win of the season with a good pitching of 6⅓ innings without a loss. However, there was an opinion that the opposing team’s batting line was in a slump at the time, so we should watch a little more. So the Sajik SSG match on the 20th was a test stage.
The results were not good. He went down the mound, giving up 5 runs (4 earned) while giving up 4 walks on 6 hits in 5 innings. Up to the 2nd inning, it seemed to clear up the opponent with perfect pitches, and the 3rd inning was actually a run that would not have been made if it had not been for Han Dong-hee’s mistake. However, from the 4th inning, 4 balls came out and it shook.
The runners in the 4th inning, trailing 0-1, went to the 4th pitch. Choi Jeong, the leader, was allowed a ball that hit the body, and at the 1st and 2nd bases of the 1st base, Hanyu-seom again hit the bases, causing a crisis with the bases loaded. Here, Kim Seong-hyun allowed a hit and Lee Jung-beom a sacrifice fly and gave up 2 points.
Even in the 5th inning, where they were behind 0-3, it was decisive that they gave Hanyu Island a walk on 1st and 2nd base. It was burdensome to meet Kim Seong-hyun, who was weak at this opportunity, and eventually missed the game with two RBIs in a timely manner. Considering that the batting line was already unable to find an answer against Kim Gwang-hyun, the run in the 5th inning became a fatal blow to the game.
Strayley’s top speed on the day was 147 km/h, but many fell short of 145 km. Strayley’s best performance is when his fastball velocity is in the late 140km range and he dominates opponent batters with a sharp slider. He was the driving force behind his 205 strikeouts in 194⅔ innings in 2020. But now it definitely doesn’t taste like that.토토사이트
Strayley worked with Lotte again last year as a substitute foreign player and played an active role with an average ERA of 2.31 with 4 wins and 2 losses in 11 games. It was a one-and-a-half-year contract from the time he was brought. He had expectations that he would show good form this year. However, the season starts with an average ERA of 4.24.
Lotte is no longer a rebuilding team, and this year is the time to run for results. The early season has been good, and the possibility of returning to the postseason is increasing. Maybe it means we have to play big games. This is why Strayley, whose pitch has fallen, has no choice but to continue to care. The season is already going towards the end of May. Now you have to show your true self-confidence.