Wiz starter Daniel impresses in KBO postseason debut

SUWON, South Korea, Nov. 3 (Yonhap) -- Clearly unfazed by the moment, KT Wiz starter Davis Daniel made an impressive postseason debut in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) on Tuesday -- which happened to come in the first game of the league's championship battle.

Daniel was charged with three earned runs on five hits in six innings and struck out seven against the Samsung Lions in Game 1 of the Korean Series at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, some 30 kilometers south of Seoul, where the Wiz prevailed 8-7.

Daniel joined the Wiz in July as a midseason replacement for slumping pitcher Matt Sauer and posted a 5-2 record with a 2.13 ERA in 10 regular-season starts.

Daniel was particularly strong at KT Wiz Park, where he went 4-0 with a 1.16 ERA in five starts.

That trend continued Tuesday, as he mowed down the Lions lineup with a wide array of pitches.

Daniel gave up a leadoff single to Kim Ji-chan in the first inning. But with one out and Koo Ja-wook at the plate, Daniel and catcher Han Seung-taek executed the "strike 'em out, throw 'em out" double play, as Koo fanned on a changeup and Han threw out Kim trying to swipe second base.

Daniel pitched around a two-out single in the second inning, and was perfect over the next four innings while mixing in six strikeouts. He retired 13 straight batters in one stretch.

Daniel's only blemish came in the form of a two-run home run by Koo in the top seventh. Daniel got the hook after giving up a single to the next batter Lewin Diaz, and received a rousing ovation from the fans on his way to the dugout.

Reliever Logan Allen allowed one inherited runner to score, making Daniel's final line look worse than his actual performance.

The bullpen nearly blew the lead but closer Park Yeong-hyun got the final five outs to make a winner out of Daniel.

Daniel got three strikeouts on four-seam fastballs, two on changeups, and one each on a sweeper and a two-seam fastball. He made 84 pitches, 62 of them for strikes.

He did not face the Lions during the regular season. Manager Lee Kang-chul said before the series that he had a chance to start Daniel against the Lions during the late days of the season but decided not to show him against their potential Korean Series opponents.

And given the way Daniel pitched and the Lions batters kept whiffing at the plate, it is doubtful that they would have been any better against Daniel even if they had seen him before Tuesday.