*This content was translated by AI.
"I had nothing to lose."
LG Twins foreign pitcher Anders Tolhurst (27) announced his return as ace with a strong performance after a long absence.
On the 28th, in the home game against Kiwoom Heroes at Seoul Jamsil Baseball Stadium during the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular season, Tolhurst pitched seven innings, allowing six hits (one home run), no walks, striking out seven batters, and giving up three earned runs to lead LG to a 5-3 victory.
This was his first Quality Start Plus (seven or more innings with three or fewer earned runs) in two months and after 12 games since the May 7 game against Doosan Bears at Jamsil, securing his ninth win (with eight losses) of the season.
In the bottom of the third inning with two outs and a runner on second base, Tolhurst allowed his first run when Seo Geon-chang hit a double down the left-field line. Although he threw a 149 km/h fastball high, Seo managed to drive it well for a double.
The final inning was the only one that felt slightly disappointing. With LG leading 3-1 in the top of the seventh and one out, Tolhurst threw a pitch inside to Kim Woong-bin that resulted in an infield hit up the middle. His second pitch to Park Chan-hyuk, a curveball, did not drop enough and stayed in the middle of the plate, allowing a two-run home run over the left-field wall. However, he retired Im Byung-wook with a fly out to left field and turned Kim Hyuk-bin into a groundout to second base, preventing any comeback by Kiwoom.
Tolhurst joined LG midway through last season and led them to the championship as their top starter. However, he began to struggle significantly starting in June. In five games during June, his ERA was 5.59; in two games in July, it rose to 5.73, causing LG to falter as well. As a result, on the 22nd, LG took the bold step of replacing reliever Yacel Lios (33), who throws a fastball reaching up to 162 km/h, with veteran Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher Carlos Kara-sco (39).
In the post-game interview, Tolhurst's emotional struggles were evident. He said, "I'm very happy to have won. Especially more than my personal stats, I'm most satisfied that our team won. It was a victory created together by batters, fielders, and pitchers, so it feels even better."
Today, Tolhurst mixed 83 pitches in total — including a fastball reaching up to 152 km/h (50 pitches), forkball (19 pitches), curveball (7 pitches), and cutter (7 pitches) — to pitch seven innings steadily. He added, "I focused heavily on my command during the game. The most important thing was that I could throw to the places I wanted to more than in previous games. Today (the 28th), I stepped onto the mound with a mindset of having nothing to lose, so I think I felt less pressure."
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*This content was translated by AI.
