'158 km/h in the 9th inning' — The monster replacement foreign pitcher is insane! Summoning "Kook and Ha Kim Kwang-hyun" after just 13 games... Even the manager marvels: "Avila is the best pitcher in the KBO League in the second half"

*This content was translated by AI.

One might wonder if this is truly a replacement foreign pitcher. The "monster," Pedro Avila (29), has summoned Kim Kwang-hyun's (38, both of the SSG Landers) career-high season in just 13 games since arriving in the KBO League.

On the 29th, Avila started in a home game against the LG Twins at Incheon SSG Landers Field during the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular season, pitching a complete-game victory with 8 hits allowed (1 home run), 1 hit batter, 5 strikeouts, and 1 run allowed over 9 innings.

Avila, who secured his 8th win of the season (with 2 losses), lowered his ERA from 1.62 to 1.56, while SSG defeated LG 7-1 to escape a two-game losing streak.

Since joining as a replacement foreign pitcher in July, he has already recorded 12 quality starts (at least 6 innings pitched with no more than 3 earned runs). In 13 games, he has worked an impressive 86⅔ innings and struck out 88 batters.

Most remarkably is his complete-game capability. On the 4th, Avila recorded a complete-game shutout victory against the Doosan Bears with 3 hits allowed, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts, and no runs allowed over 9 innings. Just 25 days later, he again took sole responsibility for 9 innings, securing his second complete-game victory.

One must go back to the era of SSG's predecessor, the SK Wyverns, to find a similar record. The last pitcher to achieve this was Kim Kwang-hyun (38). After recording a complete-game victory with 1 run allowed over 9 innings against the Lotte Giants on April 24, 2010, Kim Kwang-hyun followed it up with a complete-game shutout over 9 innings against the KIA Tigers on June 20. That year, Kim Kwang-hyun posted one of his best seasons ever, going 17-7 with an ERA of 2.37 in 31 games, while pitching 193⅔ innings and striking out 183 batters.

Avila has become the first SSG pitcher in 16 years since Kim Kwang-hyun to record two or more complete-game victories in a single season. Including the SK era, this is only the seventh time in franchise history.

The content of his pitching was also overwhelming. On this day, Avila threw a total of 104 pitches, including 42 two-seam fastballs, 26 cutters, 21 changeups, 13 curves, and 2 four-seam fastballs. His top speed for the two-seam fastball reached an impressive 158 km/h. By freely mixing two types of fastballs with slower changeups and curves, he stole the timing from LG batters.

However, it was not just about chasing strikeouts. Rather, efficiency was key. He aggressively attacked left-handed batters on the inside and right-handed batters on the outside, handling most batters in five pitches or fewer. In the 2nd inning, he retired the side in 10 pitches, and in the 3rd inning, in 13 pitches. In the 5th inning, even after allowing a hit to Park Dong-won, he handled Shin Min-jae with a groundout on the first pitch and then got Hong Chang-gi out for a double play in just two pitches. The inning ended with only six pitches.

His power did not fade until the very end. Against leadoff batter Lee Jae-won in the 9th inning, he quickly reached two strikes with a 154 km/h cutter and a 158 km/h two-seam fastball, then induced a swinging strikeout with a low outside changeup. He got Moon Sung-ju to ground out to second base with a high-speed cutter, and against the inexperienced final batter Moon Jung-bin, he recorded a looking strikeout after showing him a curve, a changeup, and a two-seam fastball in sequence.

The lineup also provided support. Park Sung-han and Choi Ji-hoon both recorded multi-hits, and Guillermo Heredia and Jeon Ui-san hit back-to-back home runs in the 3rd inning. Jeon Ui-san contributed with 2 hits, 1 home run, and 1 RBI in 3 at-bats, while Park Sung-han had 2 hits and 2 RBIs in 4 at-bats.

SSG Manager Lee Seung-yong (55) expressed his admiration. After the game, the manager said, "Starting pitcher Avila pitched aggressively to throw a complete game, showing without filter what it means to be the best pitcher in the KBO League in the second half," and added, "The fielders, as if repaying him for the short defensive time, provided focused defense that lightened Avila's burden."

He continued, "Table-setters Park Sung-han and Choi Ji-hoon opened up offensive pathways with multi-hits, including consecutive second-base hits in the 1st inning. In addition to the back-to-back home runs by Heredia and Jeon Ui-san in the 3rd inning, the fielders created additional runs whenever needed, allowing us to seize the momentum of victory," praising the team without holding back.

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*This content was translated by AI.