Ben Lively (32, Cleveland Guardians), formerly of the Samsung Lions of the KBO, is continuing his reverse export myth.
Lively started the 2024 Major League Baseball regular-season opener against the Toronto Blue Jays at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, on March 23 and pitched 5⅔ innings, allowing two runs on three hits (two home runs) with two walks and four strikeouts. Lively picked up his seventh win of the season (3-0) in Cleveland’s 6-3 victory.
Lively, who took the loss in Toronto on April 17 after giving up four runs in four innings, bounced back at home. After getting out of the first inning with a strikeout, a straight hit and a ground ball, Lively quickly got the second out of the inning with another strikeout and a grounder to third base, but a three-pitch sinker on a 2-0 pitch to Davis Schneider allowed a solo home run.
The Cleveland offense took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second on a two-run double by Bo Naylor. Lively worked around a wild pitch and a strikeout to load the bases with two outs in the top of the third before giving up another home run. He threw a two-pitch sweeper on an 0-1 pitch to Isaiah Kainer-Palepa for a tying solo home run. Lively didn’t falter and got Spencer Horwitz to ground out to second base to end the third inning.
In the bottom of the inning, Cleveland cut the deficit to 4-2 on a two-run double by Jose Ramirez. Lively, with a shoulder to lean on, retired the side in order in the fourth with two groundouts and a strikeout. In the fifth, he got two outs on a straight hit and a grounder before giving up a walk to Alejandro Kirk. With runners on first and second, Lively hit Kevin Kiermaier with a big fly ball to the walking track, but Daniel Schnyman made a jumping catch to end the threat.
After a Stephen Kwan solo shot in the bottom of the fifth cut the deficit to 5-2, Lively took the mound in the sixth. After giving up a leadoff walk to Kiner-Palepa, Lively gave up a single to Horwitz to put runners on first and second with no outs.
Lively induced a grounder to second base against Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to end the threat. He then gave up a walk to George Springer to put runners on 토토사이트 first and third with two outs before being replaced on the mound by Cade Smith. Smith got Dalton Bashaw to fly out to second base to end the inning and keep Lively off the board.
Cleveland extended its lead to 6-2 in the bottom of the sixth on a solo shot by Schneeman. Toronto got one run back in the top of the eighth on a solo shot by Kainer Palepa, but that was it. The two teams traded home runs for the rest of the game, with Cleveland taking the 6-3 victory.
Lively’s seven wins on the day set a new record for most wins in a single season in Korea and the United States (excluding the minor leagues). He previously won four games in the big leagues in 2017 and 2023, respectively, and his most wins in a season came in 2020 when he went 6-0 with a 4.26 ERA in 21 games for Samsung in the KBO. Drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the fourth round (135th overall) of the 2013 First-Year Player Draft, Lively made his big league debut with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2017. After compiling a 4-10 record with a 4.80 ERA in 26 games (20 starts) over three seasons in the big leagues through 2019, Lively joined the Samsung organization in August of that year as a replacement for Deck McGuire. After going 10-12 with a 4.14 ERA in 36 games 파워볼게임 over three seasons in the KBO (2019-2021), he was claimed off waivers by Samsung in June 2021 due to a shoulder injury.
After signing a minor league deal with the Cincinnati Reds, who drafted him in 2022, Lively returned to the big leagues last year, going 4-7 with a 5.38 ERA in 19 games (12 starts).
Lively, who signed a one-year, $750,000 contract with Cleveland ahead of this season, began the year on the disabled list with an upper respiratory virus.
After recovering, Lively rejoined Cleveland’s starting rotation and has exceeded expectations with a 7-3 record and 3.03 ERA in 12 starts. His seven wins are second on the team behind Logan Allen (8-3, 5.23 ERA), and his ERA is the lowest of any starter on the team. At just $750,000 per year, Lively is one of the best “bang for the buck” KBO pitchers in the game, and he’s becoming a big league phenomenon.