Pitcher Drew Luchinski (35, Oakland Athletics), who played an active role as the ace of the NC Dinos in the KBO League, is struggling after returning to the major leagues. The average speed of a four-seam fastball dropped by 5 km, and the average ERA soared to the 8-point range in all three losses.
Luczynski started in an away game against the New York Yankees in the 2023 Major League Baseball held at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York, USA on the 10th (Korean time), 5 innings, 6 hits (1 home run), 3 walks, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts and 7 runs (5 earned). ) collapsed into Luczynski picked up his third loss in his third appearance of the season as Oakland lost 5-10. His earned run average also soared from 7.71 to 8.16.
In the first inning, there was a defensive mistake, but Luchinski, who handled all the other three batters as fly balls, blocked the second inning with a three-way offense including two strikeouts. Both Jake Bowers and Oswald Cabrera took away swings and looking strikeouts with sliders, respectively.
However, it suddenly collapsed with 5 runs in the 3rd inning. After accumulating runners by giving Jose Trevino and Aaron Hicks 8 straight balls in a row, Luczynski induced Aaron Judge to ground to 3rd base with 1 out and 1st base. However, third baseman Jace Peterson’s catch error came out and allowed the first run. The situation where the inning could end with a double stroke led to 1 run and 1 company and 1st and 2nd bases. Afterwards, Anthony Rizzo, Glaber Torres, and Harrison Bader hit three times in a row. Including Bowers’ sacrifice fly, he allowed 5 runs only in the 3rd inning.
He had to pay the 4th inning to get off with 3 ground balls, but he could not go beyond the 5th inning. After one shot, he hit Rizzo and Torres hit a left-handed two-run homer and went down the mound. He threw 95 total pitches, including sliders (30), sinkers (29), four-seam fastballs (26) and curveballs (10). The average velocity of a four-seam fastball was only 89.1 miles (143.4 km).
Luczynski, who was delayed due to a hamstring injury, made his season debut against the Cincinnati Reds on the 29th of last month. It was his return to the big leagues after 5 years, and he suffered a loss with 11 hits (1 home run), 1 walk, 1 strikeout and 5 runs (3 earned) in 5⅔ innings. Then, on the 5th, against the Seattle Mariners, 3⅔innings, 4 hits (1 home run), 5 walks, 3 strikeouts, 5 runs lost. Until this day, he allowed more than 5 runs in all 3 games in a row and became a losing pitcher.
Luchinski is a pitcher familiar to domestic fans as he has been active in Korea as a member of NC for the past four years from 2019 to 2022. For four years, he played in 121 career games (732⅔ innings) with 53 wins, 36 losses, an average ERA of 3.06 and 657 strikeouts. Luchinski, who threw more than 177 innings for four consecutive years, recorded the most innings and strikeouts in the league during this period, serving as the best foreign pitcher. In 2020, he also led NC’s first integrated championship, and last year also played an active role with 10 wins and 12 losses, an average ERA of 2.97 and 194 strikeouts in 31 games (193⅔ innings). 메이저놀이터
As a result, Oakland acquired Luczynski for up to $8 million over two years, including a one-year guarantee of $3 million and a club option next year. Auckland, a small market club, spent a lot of money, but it already feels like a failure. Luchinski, who threw a four-seam fastball average of 148.7 km in the KBO League last year, averaged 89.3 miles (143.7 km) in the major leagues this year, his velocity plummeting by a whopping 5 km.
Because of the lack of speed, breaking pitches such as sliders do not work. If there is no recovery of restraint, it is difficult to expect a rebound for the rest of the season. However, Luchinski, who threw a total of 11,644 pitches for four years in Korea, is in his mid-30s, and it is no wonder that the aging curve comes.