"Korean batters never miss a mistake pitch." At 39, LG foreign investor Carlos Karasco pitched 5⅔ scoreless innings, showcasing veteran prowess and directly demonstrating the "survival method" of the KBO League to his close friend with 60 MLB wins.

*This content was translated by AI.

"Korean batters never miss a mistake pitch."

This was advice from Carlos Karasco (39, LG Twins), who experienced the Korean professional baseball scene first, to his close friend Mike Cleavinger (36, NC Dinos) with whom he has spent six years together. And in front of Cleavinger's eyes, Karasco directly demonstrated the "KBO League survival method."

On the 15th, LG secured a 3-2 victory over NC in an away game during the 2026 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League regular season held at Changwon NC Park in Gyeongnam. Third-place LG, on a three-game winning streak, trailed second-place Samsung Lions by five games with a record of 71 wins, 1 draw, and 55 losses.

The foundation for the victory was laid by Karasco. Making his starting appearance, he threw 92 pitches over 5⅔ innings, allowing just two hits and three walks while recording four strikeouts in a scoreless performance that shut down NC's lineup, securing his fifth win (with two losses) of the season.

Karasco, who joined LG for a total contract value of $360,000 (approximately 500 million won) on July 22 to replace Yacel Lios, debuted in the KBO League on August 1 against Jamsil Doosan Bears after adjusting to the time difference and obtaining a visa. Since then, he has displayed the veteran experience of a pitcher with 112 career wins in Major League Baseball (MLB).

As of this day, Karasco has pitched 45⅔ innings in eight games with a record of five wins and two losses and an ERA of 3.35. Defying his age of 39, he consistently delivers innings close to a quality start (six or more innings with three or fewer earned runs) whenever he takes the mound, bolstering LG's starting rotation.

Especially, his power was stronger when he had rested sufficiently. After four days of rest, he struggled with two wins and two losses and an ERA of 8.00 over two games, but after five or more days of rest, he recorded a 2.73 ERA in five games. Considering the regular season schedule has many rest days remaining, this is welcome news for LG as well.

The same was true on this day when he returned to the mound after six days. Karasco mixed no fewer than six types of pitches, centering on 29 cutters, along with 20 sliders, 14 two-seam fastballs, 12 curveballs, 9 forkballs, and 8 four-seam fastballs. While his maximum velocity was 150 km/h, he utilized breaking balls that darted inside and dropped low to induce swings from NC batters.

Through the fourth inning, the only baserunners allowed were one hit and one walk. The first crisis came in the fifth inning. After Cheon Jae-hwan (32) hit a double into left-center field with one out, Karasco fielded Kim Hyung-jun's (27) grounder and threw to third base but failed to get the runner, resulting in runners on first and third with one out. The defense came to Karasco's aid. Third baseman Koo Bon-hyuk (29) fielded a sharp hit from Kwon Hee-dong (36) as a straight ball, and Choi Jeong-won was retired on a grounder to first base, allowing the team to escape scoreless.

The sixth inning was disappointing. Karasco easily recorded two outs by turning Park Min-woo (33) into a grounder to second base and striking out Blaine Cream (29) with a swing-and-miss, but he issued consecutive walks to Kim Hwi-jip (24) and Park Geon-woo (36). Ultimately, the LG bench opted for Ko Woo-seok (28) instead of Karasco. Ko Woo-seok handled An Jung-yeol's (31) ambiguous hit with help from Oh Ji-hwan's (36) excellent defense at third base, keeping Karasco's earned runs at zero. With Ko Woo-seok and Son Ju-young (28) holding the lead, Karasco also secured the victory.

After the game, LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop (58) praised the performance: "Karasco fulfilled his role well as a starter, and Ko Woo-seok took responsibility for 1⅓ innings, playing an intermediate role. In tough situations, Son Ju-young held the line well for 1⅔ innings, allowing us to secure a difficult victory."

Karasco did not attribute the recent instability in later innings to physical condition. After the game, meeting with reporters, he said, "I don't think it's a physical issue. As the game progresses into later innings, I seem to have too many thoughts, causing my concentration to slip a bit. While batters are hitting well, I also throw more mistake pitches as the game goes on. I need to fix that part," he admitted.

Interestingly, it was precisely those "mistake pitches" that Karasco emphasized most when advising his close friend Cleavinger. The two led Cleveland Indians (now Cleveland Guardians) together to the 2016 World Series. Afterward, Cleavinger recorded 60 wins over nine MLB seasons and 164 games before signing a $75,000 (approximately 0.1 billion won) contract with NC on the 12th, setting foot in Korea.

Karasco and Cleavinger, who met for the first time in years on unfamiliar Korean soil, could not hide their joy at their reunion. Karasco introduced them by saying, "Cleavinger and I played baseball together on the same team for about six years. We are very close like family, and my children know all of his."

Having arrived in Korea first, Karasco is eager to share his nearly two months of experience without reservation. He smiled, saying, "I told him that efficient pitching is most important. I said Korean batters never miss a mistake pitch, so he needs to be careful about that part. I also mentioned that there are many batters with good contact skills."

Karasco demonstrated this very advice in the first game Cleavinger watched while wearing an NC uniform. Of course, their friendship is valid only outside the stadium, as Cleavinger made his KBO League debut against LG on the 16th.

When Karasco relayed that Cleavinger had said he wouldn't applaud his pitches, he cheerfully replied, "In a baseball game, when we are on opposite sides of the field, we are inevitably enemies."

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*This content was translated by AI.