Just three days after arriving in the country, he threw a 150 km/h fastball! ML 60-win pitcher Cleavinger's first 50 pitches, 3 innings with 1 earned run: 'Halfway success' [Changwon field]

*This content was translated by AI.

NC Dinos' new foreign pitcher Mike Cleavinger (36) achieved halfway success in his KBO League debut.

On the 16th, Cleavinger started against the LG Twins at Changwon NC Park in Gyeongnam for the 2026 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League regular season, recording 3 innings with 2 hits allowed, 3 walks, 1 strikeout, and 1 earned run.

NC failed to turn the game around afterward and lost to LG 2-9. The sixth-place NC, now in a three-game losing streak, fell further behind fifth-place Doosan Bears (64 wins, 4 draws, 60 losses) by 4.5 games after both teams played on the same day, with NC standing at 59 wins, 2 draws, and 62 losses.

Cleavinger is a veteran right-handed pitcher who recorded 60 wins, 44 losses, and an ERA of 3.55 in 164 career games in Major League Baseball (MLB). However, this year was different. He signed a minor league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates but never made it to the big leagues and was released on the 7th of last month. NC reached out to Cleavinger under these circumstances. With Curtis Taylor (31) sidelined due to a shoulder injury, NC signed Cleavinger as a temporary foreign replacement on the 12th for a total contract value of $75,000 (approximately 0.1 billion won).

NC had no room for luxury either. Amid fierce competition among the top five teams, a hole appeared in their starting rotation. There was no time to give a pitcher who had been without a team for over a month sufficient adaptation time. Cleavinger arrived in Korea on the 13th, stepped onto the mound at Changwon NC Park for the first time on the 14th, and was deployed in actual competition just two days later.

Lee Ho-jun (50), NC's General Manager, said a day earlier (on the 15th) that "it was indeed a rushed schedule," but added, "We don't have the luxury of taking time to build up our pitchers' bodies right now. Doing so would overload our middle relievers." He also noted Cleavinger's consistent pitching efforts while he was without a team. Cleavinger himself expressed confidence in his readiness for actual competition, stating, "I trained five days a week and completed bullpen sessions and simulation innings."

His pitch limit was set at 60, and ultimately Cleavinger managed 3 innings with just 50 pitches. Still, the first impression was not bad. That day, Cleavinger mixed five types of pitches: four-seam fastball (20 pitches), cutter (13 pitches), changeup (9 pitches), sweeper (7 pitches), and two-seam fastball (1 pitch). His four-seam fastball reached a top speed of 150 km/h.

He showed his signature style from the first inning. After hitting Hong Chang-ki with a 149 km/h four-seam fastball on the first pitch in the upper part of the strike zone, he induced a swing-and-miss with a changeup. After six pitches, it resulted in a fly ball to left field. Against Park Hae-min, he threw consecutive changeups, resulting in a groundout to the second baseman. For Austin Dean, he struck out on the first pitch with a sweeper and then retired him with a fly ball to right field after just three pitches.

In the second inning, he also experienced the tough reality of the KBO League. He struck out Song Chan-ui with just three pitches but allowed a walk to Moon Jeong-bin and a hit to the gap between center and left field by Oh Ji-hwan, putting runners on first and third with one out. When Gu Bon-hyeok attempted a squeeze bunt, Cleavinger fielded the ball rolling toward him but calmly threw to first base instead of attempting a play at home plate to record an out. He walked Park Dong-won again but prevented any additional runs.

In the third inning, he allowed a groundout to right field by Park Hae-min and walked Austin again. However, catcher Kim Hyung-jun caught Park Hae-min trying to advance to second base, diffusing the danger, and retired Song Chan-ui with a ground ball, completing his first KBO appearance.

It was not overwhelming. He issued three walks over 3 innings and fell short of Manager Lee's expectation of 5 innings. On the other hand, in his first actual competition just three days after arrival, without any real adaptation period, he held opponents to one earned run by throwing a 150 km/h four-seam fastball and four types of breaking balls.

NC had confirmed via video that Cleavinger's changeup, cutter, and sweeper were all effective, and indeed, he used all three. Manager Lee previously stated, "First, the changeup is good. There are many left-handed batters in Korea. If he throws as much as shown in the videos, batters will find it difficult to hit."

The contract period is only six weeks. If Cleavinger continues to start, he has at most three more appearances remaining. Even if NC advances to the postseason, KBO League regulations prohibit Cleavinger from participating in the fall playoffs. With 18 games left for NC, attention turns to what conclusion will come of Cleavinger's journey with the team.

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*This content was translated by AI.