NC Eric Peddy pitched his worst game of the season on April 2 against Lotte. In four innings, he gave up five runs on nine hits, including one home run. It was the first time he failed to complete five innings since joining the KBO. The five runs were also a season high. He only needed 78 pitches to get off the mound.
Pedi’s comeback was perfect. On the 8th, he started against the Incheon SSG and pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out five. He utilized his strengths as a groundball pitcher to the fullest. He struck out 21 batters and only walked two.
“I didn’t want to throw like I did last time (against Lotte) again,” Peddie said after the game, “I think my fastball and changeup worked well today, especially the fastball to the body, and I got a lot of ground balls.”
Pedi had been thinking a lot about his changeup since the last game against Lotte. Before the game, NC coach Kang In-hwa said, “I think it was not good that my grip on the changeup changed because of the blisters on my fingers,” as a reason for Pedi’s poor performance against Lotte.
He said that he always felt uncomfortable when throwing the changeup because of the blister on his middle finger, so he gradually changed his grip. Sometimes he puts his middle finger on the stitch, sometimes he doesn’t.
While talking about his changeup, Pedi suddenly wanted to apologize to SSG’s Choi Jung. It was the changeup that hit Choi in the back in the seventh inning. “I hope it’s not a big injury,” Pedi said, “and I will continue to work on my changeup.”
Pedi’s scoreless outing brought his ERA back into the single digits. He lowered his ERA from 2.10 to 1.97. He improved to 15-3 with his 19th win in as many starts, tying the franchise record for wins in a minimum of 15 games. The 20-win mark is just around the corner. 메이저사이트
“It’s a crazy game,” Pedi laughed. It’s easy to get your ERA up, but it’s hard to get it down. “Obviously, you want to be in the sub-one range. I’m more interested in seeing what happens in the future.”
“Right now, I’d rather think about 16 wins than 20,” he said of the 20-win mark. It’s a game to focus on his next appearance. Pedi is scheduled to start against Suwon KT on the 13th.