Curve Ball for Eighth Victory

‘The Master of Control’ Seo Jae-eung (26·New York Mets) entered the expressway toward his second straight victory.

Seo went on the mount to pitch as starter in the game against the Atlanta Braves at Atlanta`s Turner field on the 27th and pitched for 5 innings, allowing 4 hits and 2 runs to grab his 8th victory (8 losses) of the season.

Seo Jae-eung became the winning pitcher in 3 consecutive games against the Colorado Rockies on the 16th and the San Diego Padres on the 22nd. This is his second march of straight wins since the 4 straight victories in June (vs. Atlanta, June 1st ~ vs. Florida, 18th) when he was one of the possible Rookies of the Year. It’s only a matter of time for him to achieve double-figure victories, one of the essential factors to be an honored starting pitcher.

There was no sign of anxiety as in June when he suffered from a split fingernail. Seo threw 92 pitches among which 56 were strikes with 5 strikeouts, without a single walk. The fastest pitch marked 150km/h.

Mike Piazza hit a 3-run homerun in the 1st inning to present a pleasant feeling to Seo who was approaching the mound. He allowed a double to Gary Sheffield after 2 outs in the 1st inning, but finished the inning with Chipper Jones hitting a fly toward the center.

In the 2nd inning, Seo Jae-eung punched out his ‘natural enemy’ Andrew Jones, and Robert Fick was taken out by a line drive toward 2nd base. Then he allowed a double to Javy Lopez, but struck out Vinnie Castilla to survive the pinch as in the 1st inning.

Seo Jae-eung struck out the first hitter in the 3rd inning, and when Rafael Furcal surprise-bunted his pitch, Seo presented a hustle play catching the ball with his glove and getting the hitter on first base. However, he allowed a double to Marcus Giles and then a 2-run homerun to Sheffield, with a score of 3-2.

Seo finished the 4th and 5th innings retiring all 6 hitters and handed over the mound after the 6th inning while his team was leading 6-2. New York Mets allowed 3 more runs with 4 pitchers on the mound, but didn’t allow a reverse to win the game 6-5.

Seo Jae-eung showed off his elaborate control with a changeup, and a ‘new weapon’ curve to silence the Braves batting lineup. He seldom throws curves, but this day, he caught the batters off guard with curve at every turning point.

In the meantime, Kim Byeong-hyeon (24·Boston Red Sox) went on the mound to pitch in the 9th inning in the game against Toronto Blue jays. Boston was trailing by 8-12 in the home game, but Kim fanned all 3 batters back to the dugout. He failed to add a save since his team lost the match 9-12.

Chang Jeon jeon@donga.com