"Can't we go to Incheon and prepare first?" Elias was more desperate than anyone else

The 2023 KBO professional baseball game between the SSG Landers and the LG Twins was held at Incheon SSG Landers Field in the afternoon of the 20th. Elias is roaring after finishing the defense with three outs in the top of the eighth inning.

SSG Landers Roenis Elias was sluggish with three runs in four innings against the Lotte Giants at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 15th. Elias looked for manager Kim Won-hyung and asked for a favor, promising to make up for him in the next appearance.

Elias showed a change with four hits and one run in eight innings in a home game against the leading LG Twins at Incheon SSG Landers Field on the 20th. Thanks to Elias' good pitching, SSG won 2-1 and escaped its fifth straight loss. Elias earned his sixth win (5 losses) of the season.

Elias stepped on Korean soil in May as a substitute for Annie Romero, who was expelled after failing to play a single game due to a shoulder injury. It was a bit disappointing to fill Romero's vacancy. In his first four appearances, he recorded three wins, one loss, and a 2.42 ERA, but he was sluggish with two wins, four losses and a 5.14 ERA in eight games. He pitched an average of 6 1/3 innings per game, but dropped sharply to 5 innings in the past two months.

Head coach Kim Won-hyung also expressed regret in the third pitch and pitching innings.

Elias pitched at least four innings against Lotte on the 15th. The number of pitches is 86. The early steel plate of foreign pitchers is scheduled to take the mound twice a week, and disappointing pitches cannot be ignored.

Elias visited head coach Kim Won-hyung after the game and asked him to "move to Incheon first so that he can exercise." SSG was scheduled to finish three consecutive games in Sajik by the 17th and then three consecutive home games against LG in Incheon from the 18th. While staying with his family, he hoped to train at his familiar home stadium. Elias promised to "prepare hard for four days," and coach Kim accepted. Such a move is rare even for foreign players. A club official hinted, "The coach accepted Elias' request in consideration of the hot weather along with the appearance twice a week."

Elias repaid Bench's faith. He pitched the best since his KBO League debut against LG on the 20th. He was responsible for eight innings, well over seven innings, the most in a previous individual game. a four-ball game. The number of pitches was 104. The season's ERA was lowered from 4.10 to 3.79.

He said, "I had 93 pitches until the sixth inning, but I wanted to throw one more inning. Recently, the bullpen was overloaded and exhausted. "I wanted to throw until the eighth inning to give the bullpen a little break," he said adding, "I wanted to throw as much as I could."

Head coach Kim Won-hyung, who smiled brightly at Elias' pitch for the first time in a long time, said, "Elias showed the best pitch. "It would have been a burdensome start in the face of the team's losing streak, but his aggressive pitching prevented him from losing a long inning with a minimum number of runs," he praised.