The preparations are complete.
Foreign pitcher Birch Smith (33) of the Hanwha Eagles pitched three games in a row. On the 26th, he started in an exhibition game against the Lotte Giants at the Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan, giving up 1 run in 4⅓ innings.
He pitched a one-hit scoreless run through the third inning, 메이저놀이터but was slightly shaken in the fourth. After being hit with a double in right field by Jeon Jun-woo, lead batter No. 2, he gave a right-handed hit to Dong-hee Han in No. 4. The next hitter, Yoo Kang-nam, was sent out on the 4th pitch, and was driven to 1st and 2nd base. Then, the two batters were struck out and the outfield floating ball was dealt with to overcome the crisis. 67 pitches through the 4th inning. By the way, he also took the mound in the 5th inning. He caught lead hitter Lee Hak-joo with an infield ground ball and passed the mound. He threw 1 more ball and was substituted.
68 pitches and 7 strikeouts in 4⅓ innings. He played very aggressively and put pressure on opposing batters.
The contents of pitches 1-3 and 4 were different. He threw 41 through the third inning and was hit in the fourth. He finished with 14 pitches per inning. As the batting order turned around and the number of pitches increased, his speed dropped. He maintained an average of 150km in the 1st to 3rd rounds, but dropped to the late 140km level in the 4th round.
His highest fastball velocity was 155 km/h and the lowest was 143 km. The variance was large.
It was similar to the first appearance against the KIA Tigers on the 14th. At that time, Smith threw well until the 3rd inning and gave up 1 run in the 4th. In the 4th inning, the pitch suddenly dropped and the pitch was shaken. Even then, it did not break down and broke through the crisis head-on.
In the match against KIA on the 14th (4 innings, 1 run, 4 strikeouts), he threw 53 balls, and in the match against SSG Landers on the 20th (4 ⅓ innings, no runs, 4 strikeouts), he
threw 57 balls. He threw over 60 and close to 70 for the first time that day. The 5th inning was a test with the number of pitches in mind.
Smith said, “I like the location of the fastball in today’s game overall, but there are things that need to be improved on the breaking ball. Preparations for the season are going well. I plan to study how to throw more aggressively and throw more strikes on the mound in the remaining period until the opening. The atmosphere in the team is really good, and my teammates are doing well in both defense and attack. Although it’s an exhibition match, I think there will be good results if we do it during the season.”
Smith made three appearances in exhibition games, giving up two runs in 12⅔innings with 15 strikeouts and a 1.42 ERA.
He completed the preparation process without difficulty in time for the season opener. However, as a starting pitcher, we need to see if he can handle more pitches and innings. Manager Carlos Subero said he would gradually increase it.
