'The Magic of the Pitcher's Mound' KBO's First Win Took Over a Month; Benigiano Has Changed: "The Season Is Long, I Want to Keep Contributing"

*This content was translated by AI.

It was only a slight adjustment to his foot placement, but the result was worlds apart. Anthony Benigiano (29, SSG Landers) finally experienced the thrill of his first KBO League win, more than a month after the season opener.

Benigiano started against the Doosan Bears at Seoul Jamsil Stadium on the 8th in a 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League away game, pitching 5⅔ innings on 91 pitches, allowing 6 hits, walking 3 batters, striking out 7, and giving up only 1 earned run. The team won 4-1, securing the victory.

Even after pitching well in his debut with 5⅓ innings and 2 earned runs, he couldn't secure a win, so he never imagined it would take this long to get his first win. Benigiano, who had taken on two losses in six games, significantly improved his performance and finally achieved his first win.

There was a major change. Until last month, in his five starts, Benigiano had never pitched more than six innings in any game and had allowed runs in every outing. Despite being a left-handed pitcher, he was weaker against left-handed batters.

He found a solution in his foot placement on the pitcher's mound. Benigiano had been starting his delivery from the third-base side of the 60th-centimeter rubber, but he realized this made him less threatening to left-handed batters, so he moved his position slightly toward the first-base side.

He began trying this adjustment in the game against the Lotte Giants on the 2nd. Until he was ejected for a headshot in the sixth inning with no outs and a runner on first, he allowed no runs and displayed a dramatically improved performance. His pitch count was only 73, making a scoreless outing, a quality start, and even a win seem possible, but he was pulled early due to bad luck.

Although there was some regret, he gained a clear hint. Before the game on the 8th, manager Lee Seung-yong told reporters, "I asked coaches like Ryu Taek-hyun and other left-handed pitchers, and they said left-handed pitchers find it easier to use the third-base side of the rubber. From the batter's perspective, it's quite difficult when a left-hander pushes off from the first-base side." He added, "I'm not sure if this is a new trend, but during our playing days, many pitchers pushed off from the first-base side, making it hard for left-handed batters. They told me changing that is very difficult."

Nevertheless, given the poor results, Benigiano readily accepted the team's suggestion. He didn't move all the way to the first-base side but shifted one step toward the center from the third-base side. Manager Lee said, "If he came a bit more toward the first-base side, given his height and left-handedness, it would create more pressure on batters. That way, even if his breaking balls or sliders end up in the strike zone, the likelihood of them being hit decreases. Otherwise, sliders are more likely to be hit on their path. There is a difference in thinking between batters and pitchers, but I think some of that intimidation is necessary."

His fastest pitch today reached 152 km/h, thrown on just 36 pitches. His slider (16 pitches) and sweeper (16 pitches) with different trajectories proved effective. He also mixed in changeups (19 pitches) and sinkers (4 pitches) to dominate the Doosan lineup.

In the first inning, he allowed an infield hit to Park Chan-ho and even surrendered a stolen base, but he struck out Daz Cameron and Yang Eui-ji to extinguish the threat. The slider was his key pitch; he used a backdoor slider outside to Cameron and a bold, low-inside slider to Yang Eui-ji to escape the danger.

Benigiano retired the side in order in the second inning. In the third, after giving up a ground ball single to Park Ji-hoon to the right side, he induced a swinging strikeout from Jo Soo-hyung with a fastball on the outer edge of the zone and got Park Chan-ho to hit into a double play with a 151 km/h four-seam fastball up in the zone, ending the inning.

In the fourth, Cameron again hit an infield single and stole a base, but with one out, Benigiano struck out Yang Eui-ji and Ahn Jae-seok in succession. He used a low slider against right-handed Yang Eui-ji and a sweeper running away outside against left-handed Ahn Jae-seok to record two strikeouts.

Defensive support also helped. In the fifth, a sudden walk and consecutive hits led to one run. After a sacrifice bunt by Jo Soo-hyung, he allowed a hit-by-pitch to Park Chan-ho, putting the team in a bases-loaded, one-out crisis.

The SSG bench trusted Benigiano and induced a fly ball to left field from Cameron. Even if the runner from third scored, it would have been a meaningful out, but an unbelievable scene unfolded. Left fielder Guillermo Heredia threw a powerful one-hop relay, and catcher Jo Hyung-woo cleanly tagged Kim Ki-yeon, limiting the damage to one run and allowing Benigiano to escape the day's biggest crisis. Benigiano jumped for joy.

Benigiano, who also pitched in the sixth, retired Park Jun-soon with a ground ball to the second baseman and struck out Yang Eui-ji again, following his strikeouts in the first and fourth innings. This time, he recorded a looking strikeout with an outside backdoor slider.

Afterward, he allowed a center-field hit to Ahn Jae-seok and a walk to Kim Min-seok. With his pitch count reaching 91, SSG brought in Noh Gyeong-eun, who retired Kim Ki-yeon with a ground ball to the third baseman, once again erasing a scoring threat.

After the game, manager Lee said, "Starter Benigiano showed the best pitching performance of the season so far. I congratulate him on his first win. The relievers who followed also did a good job of holding opponents back and gained confidence."

It was a day Benigiano would never forget. "Everyone congratulated me. I feel grateful. I kept the first win ball safe. I'm happy because I pitched well. Now I will prepare for the next game," he vowed.

He never imagined that a slight change in foot placement would bring such a big difference. "I tried to keep working hard. I wanted to maintain my routine and show good form. Especially, I worked hard to follow the advice of manager Lee Seung-yong and the coaching staff," Benigiano said. "I also made a slight adjustment to my pitching form. Actually, I tried it once and then went back to the original, but I changed my form one more time. I'm happy because it seems to be working well now."

He is only now adapting to the country of Korea, and the results are following. "Actually, at first, I wanted to showcase my pitching style even in Korea. But I couldn't show good form for a while. I tried to pitch according to the Korean style, and good results came," he expressed satisfaction.

He has finally found the solution. He now thinks of repaying with more wins. Benigiano said, "I am grateful to those who continued to believe in me. The season is long. I want to keep pitching well consistently and contribute to the team."

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*This content was translated by AI.