Samsung Lions’ David Buchanan showed off his “SSG Landers Killer” side.
Buchanan started against SSG in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on Nov. 11, giving up two runs on nine hits with one walk and two strikeouts in six innings. With a quality start (six innings of three earned runs or less), Buchanan once again proved to be SSG’s nemesis.
Sure, there were crashes. But Buchanan worked himself out of trouble and held the SSG bats to minimal runs. Buchanan has eight wins against SSG (including his predecessor, SK), but on this day, a bullpen fire prevented him from getting the win.
Buchanan first stepped on Korean soil in 2020. He was particularly strong against SSG. In his rookie season in 2020, Buchanan made five appearances against SSG’s predecessor, SK, and went 4-0 with a 1.54 ERA. He also threw one complete game. Since then, Buchanan has continued his strong play, going 7-0 with a 2.04 ERA in nine games.
Before the game, SSG head coach Kim Won-hyung expressed his caution about Buchanan. “It’s been difficult for our team to hit Buchanan’s ball,” he said, “but you never know when he’s going to hit. He can rebound from a slump,” he said, urging batters to show a different side of themselves against Buchanan.
Samsung coach Park Jin-man also said, “The game is difficult no matter who comes up. I think we’ll only be able to laugh after the game is over, so we can really relax in the dugout. You don’t know what’s going to happen in the game. You’re always nervous before the game,” he said, adding that he hoped Buchanan would pitch well.
Buchanan took the mound with both managers’ concerns and expectations. He struggled in the first inning, giving up two runs. Leadoff hitter Choo Shin-soo singled to right and Kim Kang-min doubled to left, putting runners on second and third with no outs. Choi gave up a sacrifice fly to right field to score a run. Choi Jung walked to put runners on first and third, and Park Sung-hwan grounded out to second, but gave up a run to the third baseman. 토토사이트
But Buchanan didn’t give up any more runs. He left runners on base every inning, but they didn’t come home. The sixth inning was another big one. After giving up an infield single to Kim Sung-hyun, he gave up a single to Han Yoo-seom to put runners on first and second. The pitch count was over 100. But Buchanan stayed on the mound and got Kim Min-sik to fly out to first base and Choi Ji-hoon to strike out to end the threat.
Buchanan’s total pitch count for the day was 127. Buchanan’s previous career high for pitches in a game was 119. His previous highs were set on May 14, 2022, against Doosan in Daegu and July 13, 2023, against KIA in Gwangju.
The offense responded to Buchanan’s performance with some run support. Trailing 0-2 in the fourth inning, Jose Pirela tied the game with a two-run double with runners on first and third. In the fifth inning, with the score tied at 2-2, Lee Jae-hyun hit a solo shot and Koo Ja-rook hit an RBI double with two outs to make it 4-2.
The bullpen couldn’t stop SSG’s late rally. They allowed the tying run to score in the eighth inning. Buchanan’s win was blown, but Samsung won 5-4 in the bottom of the ninth on a grand slam by Kim Hyun-jun.