The NC Dinos have been forced to save ace Eric Peddy again.

The Dinos have announced Shin Min-hyuk as their starting pitcher for Game 1 of the semifinals against the SSG Landers on April 22 at SSG Landers Field in Incheon. NC head coach Kang Myung-ho was unsure if Pedi would be able to pitch in the first round of the semifinals, opting to give him a few more days of rest.

Pedi last pitched on April 16 against the Gwangju KIA Tigers. It was a crucial game for NC to secure third place. Instead of using him in the wild-card game, the team opted to use him to help in the final regular-season standings battle. Peddie pitched 5⅔ scoreless innings, but was pulled after taking a hard hit to the right arm. He was diagnosed with a simple bruise, but is still being monitored with caution.

Kang gave Pedi plenty of rest by leaving him out of the Wild Card Series roster altogether, and the team swept the fifth-ranked Doosan Bears 14-9 in Game 1 to enter the semifinals with two days of rest. Pedi could have played on the 22nd if he was fully fit.

Kang, however, remained tight-lipped about whether Pedi would start the semifinals. “I think he’s recovering a little bit every day. He’s a little bit better today than yesterday. I think I’ll train tomorrow (Tuesday) and see how I feel, and then we’ll decide when I’ll pitch. I think it’s too early to talk about it now. In any case, it seems that the decision was made on the 20th that he needed additional rest.

Peddy had an MVP season this year. In 30 games, he went 20-6, 180⅓ innings pitched, 209 strikeouts, and a 2.00 ERA, leading the league in wins, strikeouts, and ERA. The pitcher’s triple crown has only been accomplished by four other players in KBO history. Sun Dong-yeol accomplished it four times in 1986, 1989, 1990, and 1991, and Ryu Hyun-jin (Toronto Blue Jays) won the crown in 2006, his rookie season with Hanwha. The last Triple Crown was won by Kia’s Yoon Seok-min in 2011, 온라인카지노 and Pedi is the first foreigner to accomplish the feat in 12 years.

He also achieved the rare feat of winning 20 games and striking out 200 batters at the same time. In 1983, Jang Myung-boo won 30 games and struck out 220 batters, Choi Dong-won won 27 games and struck out 223 batters in 1984, Kim Si-jin won 25 games and struck out 201 batters in 1985, and Sun Dong-yeol won 24 games and struck out 214 batters in 1986. It took Pedi 37 years to follow in Sun’s footsteps in 1986. He is the first foreign player to do so. Here’s why Pedi is the favorite to win the MVP award.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that Pedi represents more than half of NC’s power this year, but NC is in the ridiculous position of having to save its strongest card for the most important fall stage.