LG Electronics ERA 0.71…’Grim Reaper’ Benjamin throws 7 innings of 1-run ball, again with ‘monster power’
Left-handed pitcher Wes Benjamin (30-KT Wiz) once again pitched well against the LG Twins, but fell short of reaching 15 wins for the season.
Benjamin started the home game against LG at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on June 6, giving up one run on five hits and one walk while striking out four in seven innings. Took the mound with a 0-1 deficit to improve to 6-0 on the season. His pitch count was 102 (69 strikes). Worked seven innings for the second straight game, following a seven-inning, three-run outing against the Samsung Lions on March 31.안전놀이터
Benjamin is a self-proclaimed “LG nemesis. Prior to this game, he had been nearly impregnable in four starts against LG this season, going 4-0 with a 0.71 ERA. In 25 and one-third innings, he allowed just two earned runs. His 0.71 strikeouts per nine innings and 0.172 batting average in the LG League were also excellent.
In Game 6, Benjamin also pitched well. After giving up a leadoff single to Hong Chang-ki in the first inning, he put runners on second and third, but got Austin to ground out to third. From the second to the fourth inning, he allowed only one hit. With the score tied at 0-0 in the top of the fifth, he gave up his second hit of the game to Park Dong-won. He was followed by Kim Min-sung, who advanced to third on two wild pitches. Benjamin struck out Kim on a wild pitch and got Park Hae-min to fly out to right field to keep the game scoreless. Kim induced a six-pitch curveball and Park a first-pitch slider.
The only run came in the top of the sixth inning. After giving up back-to-back singles to Shin Min-jae and Kim Hyun-soo to put runners on first and third, Austin’s foul fly to right field allowed Shin to score from third. However, he struck out Moon Bo-kyung to end the threat. Benjamin took the mound again in the seventh and gave up a leadoff single to Oh Ji-hwan, but retired the next batter. With two outs, he got Park Hae-min on a line drive to third base for the final 21 outs. Lee turned to his bullpen in the eighth inning.
Benjamin’s ERA improved slightly to 0.84 for the season.
