Wes Benjamin (29-KT Wiz) fell one home run shy of reaching the eight-win mark for the season and a quality start (six or more innings pitched and three or fewer earned runs allowed).
Benjamin gave up four runs (three earned) on eight hits (one home run) with one walk and five strikeouts in five and two-thirds innings against the Hanwha Eagles in the 2023 KBO League regular season at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon on April 28. He held the Eagles to two runs through four innings, but gave up the decisive two-run tying run in the fifth inning, leaving the mound with the game tied 4-4.
Benjamin was backed by strong run support from the start. The KT bats set the tone in the first inning, pounding out five hits and four runs against Han Seung-hyuk. Benjamin got off to a clean start in the first inning, striking out two and walking none.
However, the occasional long ball led to runs. In the bottom of the second, leadoff hitter Nick Williams took a three-pitch 146 mph fastball from Benjamin that hit the third baseman for a two-run double to left. Benjamin retired the next two batters and appeared to be out of trouble, but gave up an RBI single to Kim Tae-yeon for the first run of the game.
After retiring the side in order in the third inning with two strikeouts, Benjamin gave up a run to Kim Tae-yeon again in the fourth. After Han Hwa singled, Moon Hyun-bin reached on a fielder’s choice to put runners on first and third, and Kim Tae-yeon drove in Chae Eun-sung with a sacrifice fly. Still, with enough run support, the team was able to manage.
However, in the fifth inning, they were hit by a pitch. After a leadoff single by Lee Do-yoon in the bottom of the fifth, Benjamin had to settle for Lee Jin-young and tried to get a strike with a 145 km/h fastball, but the ball got away from him and went right over the left field fence. It was Lee’s fourth home run of the season, and the game was back on track.토스카지노
In the sixth inning, Benjamin took the mound again, but this time he was in trouble. After a leadoff walk to Kim Tae-yeon, Hanwha loaded the bases with a sacrifice bunt and a walk, and the home run hitter, Lee Jin-young, stepped up to the plate again.
At this point, Benjamin’s pitch count was 85 pitches. He could have thrown more, but Lee decided to knock on the door. Benjamin handed the mound over to Son Dong-hyun to finish the day’s pitching. The timing of the substitution clearly avoided a rematch with Lee. He didn’t bring in the lead runner, so no additional runs were scored. It was a great pitching change, but from Benjamin’s point of view, it was a day without a win or a quality start because he couldn’t stop Lee Jin-young.