Hernandez, a foreign pitcher for the LG Twins of the Korean Baseball Organization, has set a record for the most strikeouts in a single game (10).
Hernandez started the game against Kiwoom at Jamsil Stadium on April 26, allowing one run on five hits and one walk while striking out 10 in five innings.
Hernandez threw a fastball that topped out at 153 mph (54 km/h), along with a changeup (16), curveball (14), slider (9), cutter (7), and two-seam (1). He overpowered hitters with his hard fastball and struck out 10 batters. His strikeout arsenal included five fastballs, two curves, two sliders, and a changeup.
In the top of the first, Kim Tae-jin reached on a throwing error by the first baseman, but Lee struck out Lee Joo-hyung on a changeup. In the second inning, he gave up a leadoff double but recorded the next three outs. He retired Kim Gun-hee on a 148-kilometer fastball, Jang Jae-young on a 132-kilometer slider, and Park Soo-jong on a 131-kilometer slider.
In the third inning,
He struck out Kim Tae-jin with a 148-kilometer fastball and Lee Joo-hyung with a 150-kilometer fastball. With two outs, he gave up a single to Song Sung-moon and a walk to Kim Hye-sung before giving up a single to Choi Joo-hwan with runners on first and second. After giving up a run, he struck out Kim Gun-hee on a 149-kilometer high fastball with runners on first and third.
In the fourth inning, Jang Jae-young and Park Soo-jong struck out to end the inning. Hernandez struck out Song Sung-moon with a 125-kilometer curveball for his 10th strikeout in the top of the fifth inning. On Aug. 14 against Hanwha in Daejeon, 메이저사이트 Hernandez broke his own single-game strikeout record with nine strikeouts.
With 10 strikeouts, he threw 101 pitches in five innings before being pulled in the sixth inning with the game tied 1-1. He didn’t get the win, but he was a dominant pitcher. He is the most likely No. 1 starter in the LG lineup heading into the semifinals.
Prior to the game against Kiwoom on the 26th, manager Yoon Kyung-yup mentioned that he is still undecided about the starting pitcher for the first game of the semifinals.
“There is still time, so the starting lineup will change depending on who comes up. Depending on whether KT comes up, SSG comes up, or Doosan comes up, we only need three starters, so the overall lineup will have to change a bit. In the semi-playoffs, we’ll throw in the middle, and in the playoffs, depending on the opponent’s record, we might start them.”
Regardless of which team comes out on top,
Game 1 will likely start with Hernandez, who was acquired by LG in late July as a championship contender after the team released Kelly, with whom he spent six seasons. He is considered to have the command to be a solid No. 1 starter.
“We will make the decision through a meeting. It’s better to analyze power, listen to the coaching staff’s thoughts, and have multiple people think rather than just one person. I can confirm my thoughts and hear about things that are different from my thoughts. We’ll have a meeting to decide who we’re going to pick for Game 1 and Game 2,” he said.
“My thoughts are organized, but they are organized in my own way. But now, when I listen to it, if it’s the same as my thoughts, I can go, ‘This is the right one,’ and if it’s different from me, if the reason is valid, if I understand it, then I should definitely change it,” he added.
Who will start the first game of LG’s semifinals?
