'Utilized 14 relief pitchers over two days' — Coach Ho focused solely on Taylor, delivering the perfect pitch the team needed: "Contributing to the victory is the greatest harvest," he smiled. [Incheon Field]

*This content was translated by AI.

"If I could, I would have loved to throw a shutout."

Tight battles unfolded on two consecutive days. Despite deploying all available relief resources, the result was one draw and one loss. In the final game of the series, where a win was essential, Curtis Taylor (31, NC Dinos) took the mound.

Taylor started against SSG Landers at the Incheon SSG Landers Field on the 7th in a 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League away game, throwing 105 pitches. He allowed 6 hits, 3 walks/strikeouts, recorded 6 strikeouts, and gave up 4 earned runs, securing his third win (2 losses) of the season.

The team endured a string of grueling games. Especially in this series, the relief pitchers were likely fatigued. In the game on the 5th, the starting pitcher collapsed early, with eight pitchers covering eight innings. On the 6th, six relief pitchers shared 3⅔ innings. Among them, five pitchers appeared in consecutive games.

Before the game, Lee Ho-jun, the manager, said, "Today, we have to rely heavily on Taylor. There is no other choice. It's difficult to find a middle ground, so we just hope he throws well. Since he showed a good performance in the last game, we intentionally kept the battery pairing unchanged and sent him out."

The hope was for him to pitch as many innings as possible. Manager Lee stated, "We don't go long just because we want to, but we generally aim for around 100 pitches. It would be great if he could handle batters quickly. Ideally, a shutout win would be the best. Since he performed well last time, I believe he has even more confidence now."

In the first inning, he allowed a hit to leadoff batter Park Sung-han and permitted consecutive stolen bases, but he struck out Choi Ji-hoon and Guillermo Heredia back-to-back, escaping a scoring threat.

He allowed three consecutive hits in the second inning, giving up two runs, and in the third, he gave up a double to leadoff batter Jung Jun-jae, allowing one run. However, he maintained stable pitching thereafter.

He retired all three batters in both the fourth and fifth innings. The NC Dinos offense scored five runs in the fourth and added two in the fifth, giving Taylor the win. He started by striking out Kim Jae-hwan but walked Choi Jun-woo and Lee Ji-young. With two outs and runners on first and second, he handed the ball to Lee Jun-hyeok. A hit-by-pitch and an infield hit allowed one inherited runner to score, but Taylor held the lead comfortably.

He threw 43 pitches of four-seam and two-seam fastballs, clocking a top speed of 151 km/h. He mixed in 31 sweeper pitches, 24 changeups, and 7 cutters, delivering effective pitching.

On the 30th of last month, he delivered a quality start (six or more innings with three or fewer earned runs) against KIA Tigers with six innings and two earned runs. On this day as well, he showcased a performance that brought victory to the team in a situation the team needed.

After the game, manager Lee Ho-jun praised, "The series was tight throughout, and players were highly fatigued, but they maintained their concentration until the end and secured a victory. Starting pitcher Taylor did his job well over 5⅔ innings, and the relievers who came in afterward effectively held off difficult situations and protected the lead."

Taylor also placed great significance on bringing a victory to the team. "I am happy that the team won first. It is a pity that I couldn't finish the inning against the last two batters in the sixth as my control wavered," he said. "Today, the batters scored many runs, which allowed me to focus more on the mound."

He continued, "The biggest harvest is contributing to the team's victory. I will prepare well for the next game so I can contribute to the team's win again. I am grateful to the fans who cheered until the end despite the cold weather."

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*This content was translated by AI.