LG Twins starter Carlos Carrasco delivers a pitch against the Doosan Bears at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in southern Seoul on Aug. 1.LG TWINS
The LG Twins' high-profile signing Carlos Carrasco could hardly have scripted a better KBO debut, retiring every batter he faced over seven scoreless innings.
Carrasco started against the Doosan Bears at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Songpa District, southern Seoul, on Saturday and threw seven scoreless innings without allowing a single hit or walk.
He needed just 74 pitches — fewer than 11 per inning on average — in an exceptionally efficient outing.
Not a single Doosan batter reached first base while Carrasco was on the mound.
“Carrasco was absolutely perfect,” LG manager Youm Kyoung-youb said before Sunday's game. “I think our front office did a great job signing him. His biggest strength is that he can throw every pitch exactly where he wants. His pitches had even more movement than they did in the video we watched before signing him.”
Carrasco is a veteran who spent 17 seasons in MLB and appeared in 343 games, including 286 starts. He compiled a 112-winning career record and led the American League in wins in 2017. Among former major leaguers to play in the KBO, he boasts one of the most accomplished resumes.
After the Twins announced his signing on July 23, opinions around Korean baseball were divided. Optimists believed his experience would outweigh any concerns, while skeptics questioned whether he was simply too old.
LG Twins' Carlos Carrasco during a game against the Doosan Bears at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in southern Seoul on Aug. 1LG TWINS
At least in his first outing, Carrasco exceeded even the highest expectations.
He kept Doosan's lineup off balance by mixing six pitches — a four-seam fastball, sinker, slider, cutter, changeup and curveball. He struck out only two batters and did not rely on overpowering velocity, with his fastball topping out at 149 kilometers per hour (92.6 miles per hour). Instead, he consistently located his pitches, induced weak contact and recorded outs efficiently.
“You can't overlook experience,” Youm said. “There's a huge difference between a pitcher who knows how to attack hitters with his own game plan and one who simply throws the ball. Rather than asking him to pitch a certain way, we let him rely on the patterns he's developed over his career, and it worked perfectly.”
Doosan manager Kim Won-hyong also praised Carrasco's performance.
“I don't really have anything to say about Carrasco,” Kim said. “We did hit a few balls hard, but they went straight to fielders. More importantly, his command was outstanding, and he looked very difficult to attack.”
LG Twins' Carlos Carrasco during a game against the Doosan Bears at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in southern Seoul on Aug. 1LG TWINS
The only disappointment was that Carrasco came within six outs of recording the first perfect game in KBO history before being removed from the game.
Before the start, Carrasco and Youm had agreed that six innings or fewer than 70 pitches would be the limit. Carrasco had not thrown more than 70 pitches in roughly two months, and it had been about two weeks since his previous game appearance.
Carrasco wanted to come out after the sixth inning but returned to the mound for the seventh at the request of Youm and the coaching staff, according to the team.
“We have to respect the way a pitcher with more than 100 major league wins manages his body,” Youm said.
BY BAE YOUNG-EUN [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
