NC Dinos replacement foreign pitcher Eric Jokish (35) is continuing his team’s hopes of the fifth round after overcoming early difficulties.
NC beat the Samsung Lions 9-1 in an away game held at Daegu Samsung Lions Park on Sunday. It is a valuable win against Samsung, which is the hottest place in recent months. With the victory, NC has escaped from two consecutive losses and trailed the fifth-ranked KT Wiz by four games.
The hero of the victory was Yokishi. He completely shut down the Samsung batters by allowing three hits and one run during six innings. Yokishi, who threw 84 pitches through the fifth inning, allowed two walks in the sixth inning alone, increasing the number of pitches to 112.
NC manager Kang In-kwon said, “Yokishi contributed to the victory by allowing one run in six innings.” He said, “I am glad that I could contribute to the team’s victory. I was able to win because of the fielders’ scoring support.”
Due to his strong commitment to go to Korea, Yokishi became an NC Dinos uniform. He entered Korea as a short-term substitute for the Doosan Bears from late June to early July and was tested as a substitute, but failed in the final round. NC approached Yokishi after releasing Daniel Castano and looking for a new foreign pitcher. As Yokishi had a strong will to go to Korea, he was able to sign a contract for 100,000 dollars (133 million won).
NC appreciated that Yokishi had 56 wins as a former KBO league champion and was able to enter the country and throw the ball in the shortest time.
However, Yokishi was off to a shaky start. He was scheduled to play in the NC Dinosaurs for the Lotte Giants, which was scheduled to take place at Sajik Stadium on March 8, but the game was postponed due to rain. Since then, his play has been postponed for at least 30 minutes due to rain in three consecutive games.
Until the game against the LG Twins (40 minutes delayed) in Jamsil on August 9 and the game against the Changwon SSG Landers (1 hour delayed) on the 20th against the Cheongju Hanwha Eagles (29 minutes delayed), the start of the game was repeated due to rain.
At the game against LG on Thursday last week, Yokishi had his worst comeback game by allowing 10 runs in 3 2/3 innings. On Aug. 15, his team showed poor performance by allowing four runs in 4 1/3 innings. He lost both games, and his ERA reached 15.75. As the pitcher was sensitive, he could not afford to ignore the impact of delayed start of game, but he seemed nervous.
He came down with a requirement to become a winning pitcher in the match against Hanwha on Tuesday, but pitched well by allowing one run in 4 2/3 innings. Since then, he has secured victory in the last three consecutive games. He pitched well against the leading Kia Tigers on Saturday by allowing two runs in 5 2/3 innings. The game against SSG on Sunday led the team to two hits and one run in six innings, and the game against Samsung on Sunday. He has completely changed in the recent four games, with three wins and an ERA of 2.05.
“I feel as if my body has fully adapted from the last three games,” he said. NC is continuing its last hope of making it to the semifinals. “I want to play many innings in the remaining games and finish them short to help the fielders,” he said. “I will continue to work hard to become a player who contributes to our team’s victory.” 안전놀이터
