“Pedi was preparing for tomorrow. At this point, if there are no other changes, Pedi will pitch in the first round of the playoffs.”
The Super Aces’ first appearance in KBO fall baseball was postponed until the playoffs.
The NC Dinos won Game 3 of their semifinal series against the SSG Landers at Changwon NC Park on Friday, 7-6, behind a three-run homer by Martin in the bottom of the second inning.
With the win, NC secured their place in the playoffs with a final score of 3-0 after winning the first game 4-3 and the second game 7-3. For SSG, this was their last game of the 2023 season.
During the game, Choi Sung-young, who was expected to start Game 4, was seen warming up on the bench. “Pedi was preparing to start Game 4,” NC head coach Kang In-hwa told reporters after the game.
Pedi was substituted after suffering a bruise on his forearm when he was hit by KIA’s Go Jong-wook during the game against Gwangju KIA on April 16.
He’d been knocking on the door for a semi-playoff start ever since, but was pushed back from the originally scheduled Game 2 to Game 4, and even then it wasn’t confirmed until before the game.
After a post-briefing practice, Peddie said he was fine and was ready to start the next day, but NC’s semi-playoff sweep gave him a little more rest.
Still, the two-week gap in practice is a concern. “I think he’ll feel a little off, but if we use bullpen pitching, it’ll be a little difficult at the beginning of the game, but he’ll get it back after an inning or so,” Kang said.
On the other hand, Tanner Tully, who followed up his four-inning, five-run outing in the Wild Card Game with a two-inning, five-run outing today, said, “My changeup is not good right now. He’s panicking on the mound because he’s not getting the command he wants to throw,” he said, but added that he was optimistic that “if he finds his groove, he’ll get through it.”
“It was tough because we didn’t score any runs after the first inning. The bullpen did their job well and we were able to finish the series in a good mood.”
“The sudden injury of Lee Jae-hak made it difficult for our pitchers to pitch against right-handed batters in the eighth inning. I tried to leave Ryu Jin-wook to pitch the eighth inning, but he had a lot of pitches. It was too early for Lee Yong-chan to come out.”
As for the extent of Lee Jae-hak’s injury, he said, “I haven’t gotten an exact report, but it doesn’t look like it’s a big injury. There is some swelling.” Regarding the closer, Lee Yong-chan, he said, “He found his groove and relaxed. I have confidence that he will continue to pitch well.”
“The players’ fatigue level will be high, but they have time to recharge. KT is a team with a solid starting lineup. We need to think about how to take our domestic starters. We have tomorrow off. We will prepare well for KT.”