The key to snapping the losing streak ultimately falls to the ace.
The professional baseball Samsung Lions will put their foreign ace Ariel Hurado forward to escape the quagmire of seven straight losses.
Samsung will play an away game against the Doosan Bears at Jamsil Stadium on the 28th. Samsung, which has fallen into a seven-game losing streak since the April 19 game against the Daegu LG Twins, desperately needs a change of momentum. Leading the charge to end the skid is Hurado.
Hurado has a 2-1 record with a 1.97 earned run average in five games this season. He has fulfilled his ace role by recording a quality start every time he has taken the mound.
In his last start on the 22nd against the SSG Landers, he also pitched seven innings, allowing one run (four hits, one home run, two walks, five strikeouts). He left the mound having met the conditions for a win, but the bullpen collapsed and they lost the victory.
With the team mired in a seven-game losing streak, the burden on Hurado's shoulders is even heavier. Opposing him, Doosan will start homegrown ace Kwak Bin. Kwak has a 1-2 record with a 3.25 earned run average in five games this season, and this is his first matchup with Samsung this season.
At Suwon KT Wiz Park, league leader KT Wiz and second-place LG Twins collide. KT will start Matt Sauer (five games, 1-1, 4.08 ERA), and LG will start Lachlan Wells (four games, 2-1, 1.44 ERA).
Last-place Lotte Giants will host the Kiwoom Heroes. Left-hander Kim Jin-wook, nicknamed 'Sajik Scubal,' will make the start. He has appeared in four games this season, recording a 2-1 record with a 2.59 earned run average.
Kiwoom, riding a wave after sweeping a three-game weekend series against Samsung, also pulled out its ace card. The foreign pitcher Raul Alcantara is that man. Alcantara, a 20-win veteran, has posted a 2-2 record with a 2.56 earned run average in five games this season.
At Changwon NC Park, KIA Tigers foreign pitcher James Naile and NC Dinos' Shin Min-hyeok will face off as starting pitchers. At Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark, SSG Landers' Choi Min-jun will face Hanwha Eagles' Asian quota pitcher Wang Yencheng.
[OSEN]