SSG Landers’ substitute foreign pitcher Roenis Elias made his KBO debut.
Elias made his debut on April 24 against the LG Twins in Munhak. He gave up a walk to Kim Hyun-soo in the first inning, but retired the rest of the 메이저놀이터 batters. The LG bats supported Elias with a run-scoring home run by Park Sung-ho in the first inning.
In the second inning, we saw the bitter taste of the KBO. Elias retired Oh Ji-hwan and Moon Bo-kyung on back-to-back grounders. He gave up a nine-pitch walk to Kim Min-sung and a two-run homer to the dreaded No. 8 hitter, Lee Jae-won. The 146-kilometer-per-hour fastball was driven toward the body and Lee couldn’t miss.
The third inning was the first triple play inning. Park Hae-min, Moon Sung-joo, and Kim Hyun-soo were all retired on 11 pitches.
In the fourth inning, Elias was shaky. He got the leadoff hitter, Austin, to fly out to center field, but gave up a straight ball to Oh Ji-hwan. He then gave up back-to-back singles to Moon Bo-Kyung and Kim Min-Sung. He gave up three pitches to Lee Jae-won, who homered in the previous at-bat, and then walked him on an automatic double play. With runners on first and second, he struck out Kim Ki-yeon to give himself some breathing room. Kim’s hit could have led to a big inning if Moon Sung-joo, who was on second, hadn’t been thrown out at third.
Elias also showed his anxiety in the fifth inning. He struck out leadoff hitter Park Hae-min, but gave up back-to-back singles to Moon Sung-joo and Kim Hyun-soo to put runners on first and third. He then struck out Austin with a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning.
In the sixth inning, Kim Won-hyung brought in Ko Hyo-joon and pulled Elias from the mound. Elias went five innings, allowing three runs on five hits, one home run, and four walks (one wild pitch).
It was his first start, but Elias’ strengths and weaknesses were evident. His fastball was up to 150 mph and consistently in the low-to-mid 140s. The average velocity for left-handed pitchers in the KBO is 142.2 kilometers per hour, so Elias’s velocity is competitive enough for the league.
However, his velocity is a question mark. Elias threw a total of 91 pitches for a 58.2% strike rate. He gave up four walks, including an intentional walk, and struggled to get hitters out with his pitches. It was also disappointing that he didn’t have a triple play inning except for the third inning.
Meanwhile, in the top of the 6th inning, SSG leads LG 5-3. If the game ends this way, Elias will get the win in his debut.