Foreign pitcher Aaron Wilkerson, 34, of the Lotte Giants, pitched his best game on the Korean stage. He didn’t get the win as the offense couldn’t provide any support, but he didn’t allow a single hit in seven innings.
Lotte earned a thrilling 1-0 victory in its 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League home game against SSG Landers at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on June 6. The win snapped a three-game losing streak and saved Lotte from a weekend three-game sweep of SSG.바카라사이트
Wilkerson was the star of the show for Lotte. Making his third start in Korea, the right-hander struck out six and walked just one in seven innings of work, and didn’t allow a single hit against the SSG lineup. He was perfect until the sixth inning.
The next two pitchers, Koo Seung-min (eighth) and Kim Won-joong (ninth), did not record a hit and Lotte recorded its first-ever “joint no-hitter”. It was the first nine-inning no-hitter in 37 years since Kim Jeong-haeng’s individual no-hitter in 1986, and only the third time in the KBO since SSG (Wilmer Font and Kim Taek-hyung) on April 2 last year.
Starting lineup for the August 6 SSG-Lotte game (final attendance of 8162)
- SSG Landers: Choo Shin-soo (designated hitter)-Choi Ji-hoon (center fielder)-Choi Joo-hwan (first baseman)-Choi Jeong (third baseman)-Park Sung-sung (shortstop)-Ha Jae-hoon (left fielder)-Han Yu-seom (right fielder)-Kim Sung-hyun (second baseman)-Kim Min-sik (catcher). The starting pitcher is Kirk McCarty.
- Lotte Giants: Kim Min-seok (center fielder)-Nico Goodrum (third baseman)-Jung Hoon Jeong (first baseman)-Ahn Chi-hong (second baseman)-Jeon Jun-woo (left fielder)-Han Dong-hee (designated hitter)-Go Seung-min (right fielder)-Son Sung-bin (catcher)-Lee Hak-joo (shortstop). The starting pitcher is Aaron Wilkerson.
SSG had Han Yoo-seom, who returned to the first team roster the day before, in the starting lineup as the No. 7 hitter and right fielder. For Lotte, shortstop Lee Hak-joo made his first start since March 13 against the Changwon NC.
‘Crazy pitching battle’ between two foreigners resulted in zeroes
SSG starter Kirk McCarty pitches on June 6.
The game began with a side-by-side matchup between the two foreign pitchers, McCarty (SSG) and Wilkerson (Lotte). Wilkerson finished the first inning with two strikeouts and didn’t allow a single batter to reach first base in the entire game. In response, McCarty gave up a leadoff single to Ahn Chi-hong in the second, but got out of the jam by getting Han Dong-hee to fly out to center field.
Lotte knocked on the door with a couple of runs against McCarty. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Jeong Hoon led off with a double but was stranded when Ahn Chi-hong struck out. In the fifth, Ko Seung-min led off with a bunt single in front of the second baseman, but was promptly thrown out at the plate to end the threat. Lotte was unable to put runners in scoring position.
Things got better for Lotte in the bottom of the inning. SSG couldn’t even get a good look at Wilkerson’s pitches. Wilkerson was aggressive all game long, cooking hitters with his changeup and cutter. SSG was unable to connect with Wilkerson’s pitches, and the bats went silent as the game moved into the middle innings.
Lotte’s Wilkerson pitches against SSG on the 6th.
Frustrated LOTTE bats fail to capitalize on Wilkerson’s start
After another long stretch of silence, Lotte had their best chance of the game in the bottom of the seventh. Leadoff hitter Goodrum took advantage of McCarty’s six-pitch fastball and lined a double to right-center field. LOTTE had its first scoring chance of the day when Park Seung-wook laid down a sacrifice bunt to put runners on first and third.
However, the center field lineup was unable to capitalize on the opportunity. Ahn Chi-hong battled through seven pitches, but was thrown out at second base on a pop fly. Jeon Jun-woo, the No. 5 hitter, also flied out to center field.
Meanwhile, Wilkerson’s perfect game was broken in the top of the seventh when he gave up a walk to Shin-Soo Choo. A bunt and an infield fly put runners on second and third. However, Wilkerson remained calm and struck out Choi Jeong-jeong to preserve his seven-inning no-hitter.
But Wilkerson, who was coming off four days of rest and had already thrown 96 pitches, was not allowed to pitch the eighth inning. With the bases still loaded, Lotte replaced the pitcher with Koo Seung-min in the top of the eighth. Wilkerson ended the game with a no-decision.
Lotte Wilkerson (far right) returns to the dugout after playing defense in the seventh inning against Sasik SSG on June 6.
The one run they needed came from second-year pitcher Yoon Dong-hee.
Lotte Yoon Dong-hee.
After a quiet start, Lotte finally scored the run they needed in the final inning. In the bottom of the eighth inning, LOTTE had a chance when pinch-hitter Lee Jung-hoon led off with a single to right. With the bases loaded on a sacrifice bunt by Ko Seung-min, Lotte brought in second-year player Yoon Dong-hee from the bench to pinch-hit for Son Sung-bin.
Calmly facing SSG’s second pitcher Moon Seung-won, Yoon hit a big shot to right field. Right fielder Han Yoo-seom hesitated for a moment and couldn’t catch the ball, allowing pinch runner Ahn Kwon-soo to cross the plate. It was a much-needed run.
With the lead, Lotte brought in closer Kim Won-joong, who had pitched a multi-inning game the day before, and he handled the SSG batters well to complete the no-hitter.