KT WIZ foreign pitcher William Cuevas continued his individual undefeated march with 6 wins in the season with 7 scoreless innings and perfect pitches. The KT tiebreaker hero is aiming for a roar at the top again.메이저사이트
Cuevas started against the Doosan Bears in Jamsil on August 15 and contributed to the team’s 1-0 victory with 2 hits, 7 strikeouts, 2 walks and no runs in 7 innings.
On this day, Cuevas started cleanly with perfect pitches from the first to the third inning. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Cuevas allowed lead hitter Su-bin Su to get on base for the first time with a bunt hit. Then, Cuevas, who faced a crisis with one out and third base due to a check error, induced a grounder from the first baseman to Rojas and caught the runner on third base from home to prevent a run.
Cuevas, who finished the innings without major crisis at the end of the 5th and 6th innings, went to the mound at the end of the 7th inning as well. After two outs at the end of the 7th inning, Cuevas faced the last crisis with two outs and first and second bases by allowing Kim Jae-hwan and Kim In-tae to walk consecutively. However, Cuevas completed a quality start plus by turning pinch hitter Kang Seung-ho into a three-pitch strikeout.
On this day, Cuevas showed sophisticated control to record 70 strikes out of a total of 100 pitches thrown. He overwhelmed Doosan’s other lineup by mixing the highest speed 144 km / h fastball (37), slider (27), curve (20) and changeup (12).
KT’s batting line, which had been blocked without a score by opponent starting pitcher Alcantara until the 7th inning, also gave strength to Cuevas’ good pitch. In the beginning of the 8th inning, against the changed pitcher Park Chi-guk, KT created a scoring opportunity by advancing to second base with a hit to the right and an error by the opponent’s right fielder. Subsequently, follow-up hitter Kim Min-hyeok made a timely triple with one RBI in left center, dramatically making Cuevas’ victory requirement.
At the end of the 8th inning, KT immediately started the Pilseungjo, which led to Park Young-hyun and Kim Jae-yoon at the end of the 9th, ending the game with a victory by one point.
After the game, KT coach Kang-cheol Lee said, “Cuevas really gave the best pitching. He made a winnable match. Park Young-hyeon and Kim Jae-yoon, who took the mound, also blocked it well. Congratulations to Kim Jae-yoon on 20 saves in 4 consecutive seasons. In the other line, the batting team made a valuable on-base, and Kim Min-hyeok’s decisive hit was able to win. Thank you to the fans who supported us until the end.”
After winning, Cuevas also met with reporters and said, “I always try to enjoy the game by going on the mound. It was fun today as it was a match against my close friend (Alcantara). Even after the game, I texted Alcantara that he had worked hard and had a great pitch. It’s an honor to win against a great pitcher. It was also a 1-0 victory, so it reminded me of the tiebreaker game two years ago, so it was more fun.”
After returning to the KBO League, Cuevas, whose pitching flow is getting better and better, was confident that he could show better pitching in the mound for the rest of the season.
Cuevas said, “When I was in the minor leagues of the LA Dodgers, I was recommended to move his lower body a little less forcefully. As a result, he was able to throw a better ball with less effort. It is true that this summer was the hottest among the five seasons in Korea. It reminds me of summer when I am in Florida, USA. He emphasized that he was always better in the second half than the first half, so he will be able to continue to show good pitching in the mound for the rest of the season.”
Cuevas is painting the team going into the Korean Series, just like he did when he became a tiebreaker hero two years ago.
“When I came back to Korea, the team was down to eighth place,” Cuevas said. Back then, he always encouraged his teammates not to worry. I believed that our team is a team that can rise naturally if we focus on the game day by day for a week. Isn’t it already up to 3rd place? Even now, I am always throwing the ball while dreaming of a Korean series.”