At least this season alone, it is much better than $185 million (about 235.8 billion won) man Jacob deGrom (35, Texas Rangers) lying on the operating table. However, a crisis comes when a long-term race is played.
Daein Dunning (29, Texas) started on the 13th (Korean time) in the 2023 major league home game against the Los Angeles Angels held at Globe Live Field in Arlington, Texas, USA, 5 innings, 6 hits, 3 strikeouts, 5 walks and 4 runs. On the 7th, against the St. Louis Cardinals, he suffered sluggish performance with 7 hits (3 homers), 1 strikeout, 3 walks and 4 runs in 5⅔ innings, followed by two games in a row.
Dunning had 2 wins in 8 games in April with an ERA of 1.77. He went 2-1 with an ERA of 2.28 in 5 games in May. DeGrom collapsed early or left, and he filled the empty spot well. In fact, he pitched better than the existing starting pitchers and emerged as Toronto’s ‘cost-effective’. Dunning’s salary this season is about $940,000.
However, by local standards, his first two games in June are definitely stagnant. He got off to a shaky start, giving up a walk to leadoff batter Taylor Ward in the first inning. He grounded Shohei Ohtani to first base with a changeup, walked Mike Trout, but made a double play with Anthony Rendon as a 91 mph sinker. Dunning finished the inning by catching the ball himself.
Dunning threw a cutter to leadoff batter Matt Theis in the second inning and got a right-handed hit. However, Brandon Drury was hit by the third baseman with a 91-mile, two-seam first pitch. In the third inning, it was not good to walk Ohtani after getting a hit to the left while using a changeup to Ward after two outs. He gave Trout a good two-seam on his body, but allowed 1 RBI to hit left. In the 4th inning, after a hit by the lead batter, the score was scoreless by handling three batters.
Dunning couldn’t keep a three-run lead in the fifth inning, leading 5-2. A 90-mile two-seam rushed to the center of lead batter Jack Neto and hit a left-handed double. Ward put the sinker toward his body well, but got a heavy hit. A 91-mile two-seam was driven to the middle by Otani from first and third base, but luckily it was a sacrifice fly to the left fielder. Afterwards, he gave up a walk to Trout and induced Rendon with a floating ball in right field, but lost an extra run due to Adolis Garcia’s throwing mistake. After getting an infield hit while throwing a changeup to Thais, he committed a wild pitch in Drury’s at-bat and allowed 4 runs.먹튀검증
In the end, Dunning’s sixth win of the season was blown away as the bullpen allowed a tie in the seventh inning. Overall, there was a good response from the Angels hitters, but overall, it seems necessary to check, such as a lucky sacrifice fly even after a lost pitch to Ohtani. With deGrom out for the season, continuity of performance became more important to Dunning.