Dallas Keuchel, 36, a left-hander from the Cy Young Award in the Major League, has made his debut in the Japanese pro baseball league successfully. He has taken the first step toward revival in Japan, which has passed away after five releases in the past three years in the Major League.
Keuchel, a member of the Chiba Lotte Marines, started the 2024 Japanese professional baseball Softbank Hawks at the Mizuho Paypay Dome in Fukuoka, Japan on the 17th, and allowed three hits, two walks, three strikeouts and two runs in five innings.
He successfully ended his debut against Softbank, a strong team that ranks first in the Pacific League with 69 wins and 35 losses. He did not record a win or loss in a 2-2 tie, and Chiba Lotte won the game 5-2.
Keuchel allowed Kenta Imamiya to get on base for the first time with a double over the left field after one out in the bottom of the first inning, and gave up the first run after hitting a timely hit to center field Tatsuru Yanagimachi. He then allowed an additional run on Hotaka Yamakawa with an RBI double that fell to the right of center field.
He allowed two runs on three consecutive hits with one out from the start of the first inning. However, Keuchel ended the first inning by groundering Kensuke Kondo to the second base and Takuya Kai to the shortstop, respectively, and pitched the second inning with three outs. With two outs, he struck out Hikaru Kawase with an outside slider to score his first strikeout in Japan.
Then, he allowed a walk to Yanagimachi after the second out in the third inning, but allowed Yamakawa to strike out by banking on his high fighting spirit. In the fourth inning, he struck out Taisei Makihara with a change-up strikeout, again with three outs and three outs. In the fifth inning, he allowed a walk to Soichiro Ishizuka, grounded out to second, and handled Imamiya with one out and a fly ball to center field, allowing no additional runs until the fifth inning.
After giving up two runs through three consecutive hits in the first inning, he only allowed two walks but no hits. As it was his first time as a pitcher, he pitched in a total of 73 pitches in five innings. His maximum speed was not fast enough at 141 kilometers per hour, but he blocked the hitting line at Softbank by increasing the ratio of cutter, two-seam fastball to change-up and slider.
“I was a little nervous in the first inning because it was my debut match in Japan. Softbank’s batters were in good condition, so I should have thrown low, but I went high and lost two runs. After the second inning, I was able to control the ball low and vitalize my pitching capability,” Keuchel said. “I was surprised by the Marlins fans’ support. Their support gave me energy. Next time, I want to throw longer innings to contribute to my victory.” 먹튀검증
Since his Major League debut with the Houston Astros in 2012, Keuchel has recorded a total of 282 games (267 starts, 1642 ⅓ innings) with 103 wins, 92 losses and a 4.04 strikeout and 1,254 strikeouts in 13 seasons with seven teams including the Milwaukee Brewers. He spent his career high season with 20 wins, 8 losses and 2.48 strikeouts in 33 games (232 innings) in 2015, winning the American League Cy Young Award and contributing to Houston’s first World Series championship in 2017.
There is no fiery fastball, but he spent his heyday as a stable command that pokes deformed fastballs such as cutters and sinkers into every corner of the strike zone. When he was with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2017, he watched and referred to a video of Ryu throwing a cutter by Keuchel at the recommendation of pitcher coach Rick Honeycutt. Ryu Hyun-jin, who has another weapon against right-handed hitters after installing the cutter, was in his second heyday.
However, Keuchel’s career has declined since his shoulder injury in 2016, and although he signed two free agency contracts, he failed to make a big hit. He has completely become a journeyman from 2022. After being released five times after eight games with two wins and five losses and a 7.88 ERA in eight games for the Chicago White Sox in 2022, he moved to the Arizona Diamondbacks, but was released again after four games (9.64 ERA) and moved to the Texas Rangers. He was also released after two games with a poor ERA of 12.60.
In 2023, he signed a minor contract with the Minnesota Twins during the June season and moved up to the big league, but failed to renew his contract after the season with only two wins and one loss and an ERA of 5.97 in 10 games. He signed a minor contract with the Seattle Mariners in April this year, but was released without a big league call-up. After signing a contract with Seattle again, he was traded to Milwaukee for just $1 in cash. He got a chance to play in the big league with Milwaukee, but was released after posting an ERA of 5.40 in four games.
As Keuchel was released five times in six teams over the past three years, it proved that he is no longer competitive in the Major League. Eventually, he moved to Japan and is continuing his career. Attention is focusing on whether Keuchel, who got off to a flying start, will be able to revive in Japan.