Jordan Balazovic, 26, a substitute foreign pitcher for the Doosan Bears of the Korean Baseball Organization, had both expectations and challenges in his KBO debut.
Balazovic pitched 4⅔ innings of one-run ball against the Samsung Lions in the 2024 Shinhan Solar Bank KBO League on Thursday at Jimseol Stadium. He allowed one hit, walked four and struck out six.
He threw 93 pitches. He threw a mix of fastballs (41), sliders (27), splitters (11), and curveballs (14) that topped out at 156 mph.
Balazovic joined Doosan as a replacement for Raul Alcantara. Doosan paid Balajovic a total of $250,000 (approximately 340 million won).
He made his KBO debut a week after arriving in the country on Aug. 8. The 6-foot-2 Balajovic got off to an impressive start, attacking Samsung batters early on with a powerful fastball that came from a high pitch.
After striking out the side in the top of the first inning on two fly balls and one strikeout, he struck out the first batter of the second inning, Kang Min-ho, on a wild pitch. He then gave up a walk to Lee Sung-gyu to lead off the inning, but struck out Yoon Jung-bin and retired Park Byung-ho on a fly ball.
In the top of the third,
He threw a three-pitch curveball on two strikes to Byung-woo Jeon before giving up a double to right field. He didn’t falter after giving up his first hit and retired Kim Ji-chan and Lee Jae-hyun.
Balajovic, who also retired the side in order in the fourth inning, struggled with his command as his pitch count increased.
In the top of the fifth, 카지노사이트 with his team leading 1-0, he walked Yoon Jung-bin on a full count and then threw three pitches in a row to Park Byung-ho.
The struggling Balajovic induced a false swing on a six-pitch slider on a three-pitch, two-strike count to get Byung-ho Park to ground into a double play. He then got a respite when catcher Kang Min-ho threw out Jung-bin Yoon at second base as he attempted to steal second.
However, back-to-back walks to Ryu Ji-hyuk and Jeon Byung-woo loaded the bases.
Eventually, the Doosan bench pulled Balajovic, who was one out shy of the winning pitcher requirement, and brought in the second pitcher, Lee Kyo-hoon.
With runners on first and second in scoring position, Lee induced pinch-hitter Kim Heon-gon into a fielder’s choice and then gave up a pushing single to Lee Jae-hyun to load the bases.
Balajovic’s lead runner crossed home plate, increasing his run total to one.
