Foreign pitcher Cole Ervin (31) of the Doosan Bears will return after a reassessment period following his removal from the first-team roster.
Doosan announced on the 10th that left-handed pitcher Cole Ervin will start against Hanwha on the 9th. This marks his return to the first team 12 days after the game against KT in Suwon on the 29th of last month. With a record of 2 wins and 4 losses under interim manager Jo Sung-hwan, Doosan hopes to revive their performance with Ervin's return.
Cole Ervin, who has a career total of 28 wins in Major League Baseball, has underwhelmed this season with a record of 5 wins and 5 losses, an earned run average of 4.28, and 54 strikeouts over 12 games (67⅓ innings).
In March and April, he started well with 4 wins and 2 losses and an earned run average of 2.95 over 7 games (42⅔ innings), but collapsed in May with 1 win and 3 losses and an earned run average of 6.57 over 5 games (24⅔ innings). He repeatedly struggled with his command and fell apart.
In the first game of a doubleheader against NC on the 11th of last month, he struggled, allowing 3 hits, 4 walks, and 8 runs (6 earned) over 2⅓ innings before being removed, where he was seen pushing pitching coach Park Jung-bae and catcher Yang Eui-ji on the shoulders, causing controversy.
Upset with himself, he lost control of his emotions. Cole Ervin apologized to the team, saying, "It's 100% my fault. I was angry with myself for allowing 7 walks, not my teammates, and that led to my inappropriate behavior. I apologize to my teammates and many fans, especially in professional baseball where many children cheer. Such behavior is unacceptable."
Although the controversy was quickly resolved, his performance did not improve. After collapsing against KT in Suwon on the 29th of last month, allowing 7 runs (6 earned) over 4⅔ innings with 7 hits and 5 walks, he was removed from the first-team roster.
However, Ervin did not go down to the second team but spent time adjusting in the first team. On the 4th, he threw 30 pitches in a live pitching session at Jamsil Stadium. Interim manager Jo Sung-hwan noted, "I think his strike rate has improved, which is positive. I made a suggestion to Ervin that he should smile a little more on the mound, but he was too serious. I plan to discuss technical aspects again with the performance analysis team and the pitching coaches," and forecasted his return to start against Hanwha on the 10th.
For Hanwha, right-handed pitcher Ryan Weiss will start. Currently, Weiss has a record of 7 wins and 2 losses, an earned run average of 3.36, and 90 strikeouts over 13 games (80⅓ innings). Despite pitching well in his last two games, with one run over 6 innings and two runs over 5 innings, he hasn't secured a win. He previously won against Doosan on April 10 at Jamsil, allowing 4 hits (1 home run) with 7 strikeouts over 7.2 innings without issuing any walks.
Meanwhile at Jamsil, SSG Kim Gun-woo will face LG Son Ju-yeong, while at Gocheok, NC Logan Allen will take on Kiwoom Kim Yoon-ha, and in Suwon, Lotte Park Se-woong will face KT Oh Won-seok. In Gwangju, Samsung Choi Won-tae faces KIA James Neill, who is set to start.
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