Is it hard to find the ‘hairy ace’ Dan Straley (Lotte Giants) that he showed during the past three seasons? Strayley was unable to accumulate a win in four consecutive games.
Strayley started on the 20th in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League KIA Tigers and team 3rd game home match held at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 20th, pitched 66 pitches in 3 innings, 4 hits, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts and 3 runs (3 earned) sluggish with
Strayley signed a contract with Lotte prior to the 2020 season and came into contact with the KBO League. Strayley appeared in 31 games in his debut season and went 15-4 with an ERA of 2.50 and quickly became an ‘ace’. Although he left behind a disappointing performance compared to his first season, Lotte hoped to accompany Strayley, who won double digits for the second year in a row. However, his choice was to return to the United States.카지노
Strayley dreamed of ‘re-entering’ the major leagues, but in the US he couldn’t create the future he wanted. As a result, he returned to the KBO League during the 2022 season, signing a contract with Lotte again. And he appeared in 11 games and showed excellent performances with an average ERA of 2.31 with 4 wins and 2 losses, and he will also wear a Lotte uniform for the 2022 season.
However, Strayley’s appearance this year is a bit unfamiliar. Strayley took the mound in two demonstration games and was sluggish with one loss and an average ERA of 6.43, and the aftermath continued into the regular season. Strayley left a disappointment with 3 runs (3 earned) in 5 innings in the match against the Doosan Bears before the opening game, and in the KT Wiz match, he digested 6 innings, but collapsed with 5 runs (4 earned).
Until the 20th, his worst appearance was against the Samsung Lions. Strayley took the mound against Samsung on the 14th, but bowed his head with 4 runs (3 earned) in 4⅔ innings, with the highest speed remaining at 138 km. In particular, he was unable to pull many innings due to his thigh muscle spasm.
Strayley, who shook off the symptoms of his thigh cramps and returned to the mound, seemed to have regained his past restraint, spraying fast balls of up to 147 km that day. But what Strayley regained was only restraint. Coach Larry Sutton expected a rebound by injecting Strayley and Jung Bo-geun, who had a good teamwork, but he could not show the pitch and control he had when he was good. As a result, it led to the shortest inning steel plate this season.
The start was good. In the first inning, Strayley broke off a clean start by tying up KIA’s top batting line, leading to Ryu Ji-hyuk, Lee Chang-jin, and Socrates Brito, in a three-way attack. In the second inning, he allowed a hit to Kim Seon-bin after two kills, but ended the inning without a major crisis. The batting line also scored 3 runs by hitting two home runs to Strayley’s good pitch. But the problem was 3 times.
After giving up a hit to Park Chan-ho in the 3rd inning, Strayley suddenly began to struggle with the ball, allowing Ryu Ji-hyeok and Lee Chang-jin to walk in succession. There was also a good ball that pierced the edge of the strike zone, but it was not judged as a strike. Strayley, who brought the bases full with 1 out, eventually scored his first run with a timely hit by Socrates.
Of course, this process wasn’t neat either. Socrates’ batted ball was an assault ball, but first baseman Ko Seung-min was able to catch it. However, when Koh Seung-min couldn’t catch it, Strayley’s excited face started to turn red. Afterwards, Strayley gave Hwang Dae-in a push-off ball and a push-out walk to Choi Hyeong-woo, tying the score in vain.
Lotte succeeded in regaining the lead in the attack at the end of the 3rd inning, and Strayley also got on the mound in the 4th inning. However, after giving up a hit to lead hitter Ko Jong-wook, Lotte no longer left Strayley on the mound. In the end, Strayley, who failed to fill the 5th inning regardless of lead, was unable to accumulate 4 consecutive wins.
Clearly, until he returned to the KBO League last year, Strayley was enough to be called ‘Ace’. However, his pitching in six games, including the exhibition game this year, was clearly different from the Strayley we know. Even with the catcher replacement card out, will Strayley be able to bounce back in the next pitching in a situation where he has left regrets? Lotte’s troubles deepen.