‘July ERA 6.19’ Well-rested LG foreign ace gets first win of second half with Samsung sacrifice
After a relatively “slow” start to July, can Adam Plutko (LG Twins) return to his Twins Legion ace form against the Samsung Lions?
Plutko will take the mound for the LG Twins against the Samsung Lions of the 2023 KBO on Friday at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu, South Korea.
Plutko, who has worn LG’s Street uniform since last year, is a right-hander who went 15-5 with a 2.39 ERA that year. In 18 games (108 innings) this season, the right-hander is 11-2 with a 2.33 ERA (through 15 games) to lead LG’s starting rotation.
In April, May, and June, Plutko posted good ERAs of 1.53, 2.64, and 0.84, respectively. But in July, he went 1-2 with a 6.19 ERA. This was largely due to giving up five runs in four innings against the Jamsil KIA Tigers on July 1. He followed that up with back-to-back quality starts (6+ innings and 3 earned runs or less as a starter) on July 8 against the Busan Lotte Giants and the first game of the second half on July 25 against the Suwon KT Wiz, both of which were six innings and three earned runs, but he gave up a bit too many runs on 12 hits and five walks in both games.
Plutko, who took the loss as LG fell 1-4 at KT on July 25 and has yet to report a win in the second half of the season, then took an unintentionally long break. He missed the July 30 game against the Doosan Bears in Jamsil due to a cold and tested positive for COVID-19. After testing negative two days later, he made his first appearance against the Gwangju Kia on July 8 and pitched 1.1 innings of two-hit ball, but the game was canceled due to heavy rain.
LG manager Yim Kyung-yeop believes the long break will be beneficial for Plutko. “Plutko has definitely taken care of his body. “He threw a lot in the first half, but he took about a month off. “He threw a lot in the first half, but he took about a month off, so it was good that he rested naturally in a situation where he had to give himself a break. 안전놀이터
Needless to say, LG, which is challenging for the title this year, will be hoping that Plutko can return to his first-half form. With another foreign pitcher, Casey Kelly (7-6, 4.66 ERA), currently struggling, they need a solid, reliable number one starter.
Plutko has faced Samsung three times this season, going 1-0 with a 2.95 ERA. It will be interesting to see if he can continue his strong start against the lions while also picking up his first win of the second half to turn things around a bit.
Samsung, meanwhile, will start with right-handed homegrown ace Won Tae-in. In 19 games (115 innings) this year, he has a 4-6 record with a 3.52 ERA.