He is very introverted. Doosan Bears pitcher Keisho Shirakawa (23) left a disappointing performance ahead of full spectators in his first appearance since signing his contract on Tuesday.
Shirakawa started the game against the Hanwha Eagles of the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League held at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Sunday, and allowed six hits, one homer, three strikeouts, and five runs in four innings. Doosan failed to overcome massive losses early in the game and lost to the Hanwha Eagles 4-7.
Earlier on the 21st, Doosan announced that it signed a 15-day extension contract with Shirakawa and would accompany him until September 4. Shirakawa, who joined Brandon Waddell as an injury replacement in July, continued his relationship with Doosan under a 15-day contract to receive 1.4 million yen (about 12.9 million won).
In his first appearance since renewing his contract, Shirakawa was shaky from an early stage. As he took the mound at the top of the first inning with a score of 0-0, Shirakawa was in a bad condition, as his fastball speed remained in the early to mid 140 kilometers per hour range. He started off shaky ground by giving up a hit to leadoff hitter Hwang Young-mook and a walk to Jonathan Peraza. He seemed to be taking a breather as catcher Kim Ki-yeon caught Kim Tae-yeon’s bunt, but he walked Noh Si-hwan, causing a one-out full base crisis.
In the end, Shirakawa allowed multiple runs from the first inning. He allowed Chae a run on a fly ball to the right field, and Jang Jin-hyuk hit a three-run home run 110 meters behind the right field to lower his head. Shirakawa, who gave up a right-handed hit to Lee after four runs, managed to catch three batters by treating Choi Jae-hoon with a fly ball to the right field. He had a rough game, throwing as many as 40 pitches to complete the first inning.
Since then, Shirakawa has stabilized more in the second and third innings. After finishing the game with three outs in the second inning, he allowed a walk and a hit in the third inning, but overcame the crisis without allowing any additional runs. However, while he allowed one more run on hits, wild pitches and hits in the fourth inning, he reached 89 pitches and handed over the baton to Lee in the fifth inning before leaving the mound.
Shirakawa has recorded two wins and three losses with 19 strikeouts and an ERA of 6.03 (23 earned runs in 34 ⅓ innings) in seven games for the Doosan Bears. His performance has significantly deteriorated from his record of two wins and two losses with 27 strikeouts and an ERA of 5.09 (13 earned runs in 23 innings) in five games he recorded during the SSG.
Introverted personality is considered to be the cause of the sluggishness. Shirakawa has been on the ups and downs since entering the Korean stage due to the large and small number of spectators. In particular, he has been sluggish with an 8.54 ERA (31 earned runs in 32 ⅔ innings) in eight games, which had more than 15,000 spectators, causing concern. It is all the more troublesome as his team Doosan is using Jamsil, the largest in Korea, as its home ground.
Doosan signed an extension contract with Shirakawa to block the starting rotation hole as Brandon, who was originally scheduled to return to the mound in August, still failed to throw the ball. However, his concern grew as Shirakawa displayed below-expectation pitching despite receiving 5.4 million yen (approximately 50 million won) in less than two months as a member of Doosan. The fourth-ranked Doosan Bears needs a rebound as it is trailing the third-ranked LG Twins by two games and the fifth-ranked KT Wiz, who has won three consecutive games. 토토사이트
