‘Post-season’ man William Cuevas (33) was prematurely dismissed.
Cuevas appeared as a starting pitcher in the first game of the 2023 KBO League playoffs (PO, 3 wins out of 5) against the NC Dinos in the 2023 KBO League held at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 30th, but allowed 6 hits (1 home run) and 7 runs (4 earned runs) in 3 innings. ) and shook. Cuevas, who ranked highest in winning percentage this season with 12 wins and no losses, predicted a pitching battle with Eric Peddie, NC’s starting pitcher and 20-win regular season pitcher. However, he did not look in good condition, and eventually bowed his head and came down from the mound due to the NC batters’ persistent outside play.
Cuevas struggled from the first inning. He was in danger of giving up a run after being hit by a Texas hit to right-center field from leadoff hitter Son Ah-seop, and then a double to left-center field from follow-up hitter Park Min-woo. In this situation, third batter Park Geon-woo struck out. At a favorable ball count (1 ball – 2 strikes), he used a four-seam fastball (fastball) right in the middle, resulting in a late swing.
However, he allowed a sacrifice fly to follow-up hitter Jason Martin. He caught two strikes, but the third pitch was a bit high. Outfield fly to left fielder Anthony Alford. Third base runner Son Ah-seop scored after tagging up.
Cuabas’ control of the outside fastball against right-handed batters was somewhat shaky. He got two strikes first in the game against follow-up hitter Kwon Hee-dong, but gave up a walk while trying to hit the outside.
In this situation, additional goals were prevented. He induced a fly ball to center field in the game against Seo Ho-cheol. However, in the top of the second inning, he was hit by leadoff hitter Oh Young-su. In a full-count match, he threw a fastball outside (relative to a left-handed hitter), but it went in somewhat high, and Oh Young-soo’s ball, which he pushed through, went over the left-center wall.
Cuevas is a ‘big game feature.’ In the 2021 regular season first place match, he showed a good pitch against the Samsung Lions batting line, not giving up a single run in 7 innings, and in the first game of the Korean Series (KS) that year, he blocked the strong Doosan batting line by allowing 1 run in 7 2/3 innings. .
On this day, Cuevas’ ball had power, but his control was somewhat shaky. In the end, he gave up a run in the fourth inning as well. It started with a fielder’s error. Third baseman Hwang Jae-gyun missed an infield fly ball from lead hitter Park Min-woo. A rare mistake.
Cuevas then hit a double to the left line by Park Geon-woo, allowing Park Min-woo to score, and then gave up one point again after hitting an advanced base hit by Martin and a hit to the right by Kwon Hee-dong. Oh Young-soo, who hit a home run in the second inning, and Park Geon-woo and Kwon Hee-dong in the third inning both shook Cuevas with pushing hits. If the ball has force, it is difficult to get inside the line (based on the ground)안전놀이터
Cuevas ultimately failed to complete 4 innings. After giving a walk to lead hitter Kim Hyeong-jun in the top of the 4th inning, while handling Kim Joo-won’s bunt, he chose to throw to second base and made a bad throw. He tried to throw accurately, but instead threw weakly, and the ball bounced once on the ground and then extended into the outfield.
In the ensuing situation, he competed with Son Ah-seop and even committed a violent fight. The batter attempted a sacrifice bunt, but the ball count ran out as he did not attempt it. In the end, he even hit a right-handed hit and gave up an extra run. In this situation, I was hit by a push swing. Director Lee Kang-cheol did not wait any longer.
Cuevas came off the mound with two runners (1st and 3rd base) without a single out count. KT struck out relief pitchers Eom Sang-baek and Park Min-woo, but allowed a sacrifice fly to Park Geon-woo and gave up one run. Pitcher Lee Sang-dong, who was changed again, also allowed an additional run by allowing a hit to right-center field to Kwon Hee-dong. Cuevas conceded 7 points. This was more than the number of runs he gave up (4) in 16 1/3 innings in the previous postseason.