바카라It’s a series of ups and downs. When the pitcher pitches well, the bats go silent, and when the bats heat up, the mound collapses. This is the current situation of Samsung, which has lost five straight games.
Samsung has been mired in a five-game losing streak since April 20 against Daegu Kiwoom. In the three-game series against Kiwoom, starters David Buchanan, Tae-in Won, and Albert Suarez achieved quality starts. Despite the ace trio’s strong pitching, the bats remained silent.
Jose Pirela’s two-run homer to left on the 20th and Kim Ji-chan’s squeeze bunt on the 22nd were the only two runs scored. Of course, it wasn’t without scoring opportunities. They had runners in scoring position but couldn’t capitalize.
After dropping all three games in Kiwoom, Samsung traveled to Incheon for a three-game weekend series against SSG. This time, the trusted starting pitching fell apart. Left-hander Baek Jung-hyun, who took the mound on the 23rd, gave up five runs on seven hits (three home runs) in three innings with two strikeouts. It was his fifth loss of the season.
Samsung was plagued by six walks and did not score a run. Kang Kang-ul, who returned to the first team ahead of the game, was the only player on the team to record a multi-hit game.
In the 24th game, the team took a 6-1 lead in the top of the fifth inning, but eventually lost 10-13. The bats exploded as the team scored double-digit runs for the first time in 53 days against Daegu Kiwoom on March 4. Leadoff hitter Kim Hyun-jun completed a three-hit game, while Kang Min-ho, Cho Min-sung, Ryu Seung-min, and Ahn Joo-hyung each had two hits.
However, starter Choi Chae-heung struggled, allowing six runs on nine hits (two homers) with one walk and three strikeouts in 4⅔ innings.
Samsung has lost five straight games. They need a game-changer. They’ll be counting on ace David Buchanan, who starts on the 25th. Buchanan has been Samsung’s foreign ace, winning double-digit games for three straight years until last year.
He is 4-5 with a 3.21 ERA in 13 games this season. Despite pitching well against LG Electronics on the 14th (7 innings, 3 runs (2 earned)) and Kiwoom on the 20th (6⅔ innings, 6 runs (1 earned)), he was unable to get any help from the field. It’s the ace’s job to break the losing streak and keep the winning streak going. A strong outing from Buchanan is needed now more than ever.