The pitcher won just 10 games in three years with the Samsung Lions of the KBO. After returning to the United States, he never made it out of the minor leagues. This year, however, he was promoted to the major leagues.
Ben Lively (31, Cincinnati Reds) started the 2023 Major League Baseball home game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, on May 5 (ET), giving up five runs on six hits (two home runs) in seven innings with five strikeouts and three walks to improve to 3-2 on the season. 3.03 ERA.
Despite the loss, he broke his career highs for most innings pitched in a game and most pitches thrown (104) since returning to the majors. His previous longest game was eight innings against the Washington Nationals on September 11, 2017, while with the Philadelphia Phillies. His previous career high for pitches in a game was 108 pitches (7 innings, 3 runs) against the Boston Red Sox on June 14, 2017.
Lively started with the Phillies in 2017 and played for the Kansas City Royals until 2019. He then pitched for the Samsung Lions of the KBO as a replacement foreign pitcher during the 2019 season. He left after posting a 10-12 record with a 4.14 ERA in 36 games over three years through 2021.
He signed a minor league contract with Cincinnati ahead of the 2022 season. He started this season in Triple-A again. He earned a major league call-up after going 4-0 with a 2.33 ERA in five games. He pitched well in the first two games of the season, throwing three scoreless innings in relief (May 12 against the New York Mets) and two scoreless innings (May 16 against the Colorado Rockies).
Here’s where the unexpected pitching relay comes in. In his four starts, he only had one quality start, but he pitched 5⅔ innings of two-run ball against the New York Yankees on May 20 and 5⅔ scoreless innings against the Boston Red Sox on May 31.
He gave up five runs on the day, 토토사이트 but he worked a lot of innings. He gave up singles to Owen Miller and John Singleton in the first inning. A 90-mph fastball to Andrew Monasterio was hit right down the middle for a three-run homer. After that one, he settled down. He threw a slider in the low 90s and a curveball in the low 70s.
He got Joey Wilmer to ground out to shortstop with one out in the second inning on a slider, and he grounded out to first base on a 90-mph fastball when he saw Singleton again in the second inning. After retiring the side in order in the fourth, he allowed a leadoff single to Victor Caratini in the fifth when his sinker was a little high. Back-to-back singles loaded the bases, but he struck out Singleton and Mike Brochure with a combination of curveball, changeup, and slider. He retired the side in order in the sixth and seventh innings. In four starts, he’s 2-2 with a 3.33 ERA, still very good.
Lively told MLB.com, “I’m putting pressure on myself after the first couple games. I’ve been working on my slider the whole game. I need to be more combative. Today’s result sucks, but we’ll get better from this game.”
