Three-time 2023 Pitcher of the Year Eric Peddie (30-NC Dinos) showed that he is healthy in his first game back in two weeks.
Pedi started Game 1 of the playoffs (best-of-three PO-5) against the KT Wiz at Katie Wiz Park in Suwon on Tuesday and pitched six innings, allowing one run (one earned) on three hits (one home run) with one walk and 12 strikeouts.
The 12 strikeouts were the most in a single game in playoff history. The previous record was 11 strikeouts by Sun Dong-yeol (Hattae Tigers) in 1989 and Chris Flexen (Doosan Bears) in 2020.
Thanks to the NC bats, Peddie came off the mound in the top of the seventh inning with an 8-1 lead.
Peddy was hit in the forearm by a pitch in his final regular-season start on March 16 and missed the first game of the wild-card decider and all three semifinal playoff games.
As if to make it up to his teammates who had to make it through the postseason without an ace, Peddie kept the KT bats in check with a dominant performance.
Pedi set the pace early by striking out the side in the first and second innings.
He got leadoff hitters Kim Sang-soo and Hwang Jae-gyun to pop out to shortstop and Anthony Alford, who went 5-for-8 with two home runs in the regular season series, to strike out swinging.
There was a brief crisis in the bottom of the third.
On a three-pitch, one-strike count, Moon threw a two-seam fastball to leadoff hitter Sang-chul Moon, who hit a solo shot to right field. The home run cut KT’s lead to 1-4.
A grounder to the next batter in the order bounced off the second base bag for an infield hit.
However, Pedi kept his composure and quickly ended the inning without allowing another hit.
The NC bats also took the pressure off Pedi’s shoulders in the top of the fourth inning with a four-run “big inning” that sent KT starter William Cuevas packing after three innings.
Pedi, who was well-rested during the prolonged fourth inning, struck out three straight batters against KT center fielders Alford, Park Byung-ho and Jang Jang-woo in the bottom of the fourth.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, he showed both passion and coolness on the mound.
With one out and a full count, a ball in the upper part of the strike zone was ruled a ball, and Pedi left the mound to make a strong appeal.
NC manager Kang In-hwa immediately jumped out of the dugout and started to evolve, and the NC coaching staff also visited the mound separately to calm Pedi down.
KT manager Lee Kang-chul then protested, asking if it was possible to visit the mound twice in a row, but the umpires decided that Kang had no intention of visiting the mound.
Pedi, who drew a walk in a chaotic atmosphere, gave up a single to pinch-hitter Lee Ho-yeon to left, but struck out Kim Sang-soo on a wild pitch.
He then struck out Hwang Jae-gyun, Alford and Park Byung-ho in the sixth inning to set a PO record for most strikeouts in a single game. 슬롯