The internal evaluation of Wes Benjamin (30, KT Wiz), who succeeded in renewing the contract after joining midway through last season and playing an active part, was positive. All of the coaching staff and colleagues expressed their anticipation, saying, “The ball is much better than last year.”
In the opening game against the LG Twins, Benjamin seemed to live up to expectations until he pitched with 2 hits, 4 walks, 4 strikeouts and 1 run in 6 innings, including a ‘perfect’ march until the 5th inning.
In the match against the Lotte Giants on the 8th, after a week, he won again, recording 6 hits (1 home run), 1 walk, 6 strikeouts and 3 runs in 6 innings. He didn’t pitch as well as he did in the opening game, but he still had a quality start (6 innings or more, 3 earned runs or less), so he was still satisfied.
However, the contents of the next two games made me tilt my head.
On the 14th against the Hanwha Eagles, Benjamin went down the mound after allowing 3 runs with 6 hits, 2 walks and 5 strikeouts in 4 innings. By the 4th inning, the number of pitches reached 93, so the 5th inning could not be filled.
Against SSG Landers on the 20th, the slump intensified. He was responsible for the mound until the 6th inning, but became the losing pitcher with 8 hits (2 home runs), 3 walks, 3 strikeouts and 6 runs. It was the first game he scored more than 5 runs in a game since coming to Korea.
The average ERA for the season soared to 4.91 due to sluggishness in two consecutive games. It is an atmosphere that is far from what was expected before the season.
Meanwhile, Benjamin will make his 5th start of the season against Kiwoom Heroes, which will be held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 26th.
Although he has to make up for his personal sluggishness, Benjamin’s good pitching is a must-have in terms of the team situation.
KT failed to win in the last 5 games with 1 draw and 4 losses. After finishing 3 consecutive matches against Doosan Bears with 1 draw and 2 losses, in the first game of the week against Kiwoom, he lost 0-1 to opponent Ace Woo-jin An.
If the losing streak is prolonged, the team atmosphere will inevitably sink. This is why Benjamin, the team ace, needs to work hard.
In particular, the game where KT’s losing streak began was the SSG match on the 20th, when Benjamin took the mound. This is an opportunity to break the losing streak that began with Benjamin himself.
Fortunately, Benjamin showed a particularly strong aspect in Gocheok last year. He made a total of 4 starts, including 2 regular season games and 2 semi-playoff games, allowing only 5 runs (2.05 ERA) in 22 innings. 안전놀이터
Gedah Kiwoom has a team batting average of 0.241 so far, which is the lowest among the 10 clubs except for Hanwha (0.227). Last year’s regular season MVP, Lee Jung-hoo, was only 0.217, and the team’s batting line overall is stagnant.
If Benjamin struggles even with Kiwoom, KT’s worries will inevitably grow.
The opposing starting pitcher is left-hander Eric Yorkis, who is like Benjamin. Yokishi, who has been playing for the fifth season only in Kiwoom, is recording an average ERA of 3.52 with 2 wins and no losses in 4 games this season.