괴물 신인의 등장과 다저스의 딜레마: 160km 강속구에 가로막힌 거함의 질주 > K-wave Trends

At the center of this series was Milwaukee's star, Jacob Misiorowski. Misiorowski, a right-handed pitcher born in 2002 who made a meteoric appearance in the Major League last month, completely dominated the Dodgers' batting line with a fastball with an average speed of nearly 160 km and a sharp curve. Dodgers batters were unable to time his heavy fastball, and they swung their bats helplessly at the barrage of breaking balls at crucial moments. His dominance on the mound, recording 12 strikeouts in 6 innings, was a powerful signal announcing the birth of a new fireballer throughout the league. Even though the opposing team, the Dodgers, thoroughly analyzed and prepared, the atmosphere on the bench was depressed by the rookie's spirit and overwhelming presence.

For the Dodgers’ Korean batter Kim Hye-seong, this series was a time when she faced a harsh reality. Due to injuries to key players, he had the opportunity to start three consecutive games, but the result was a painful slump. In particular, he struggled against Misiorowski, striking out in two consecutive at-bats, and even against a new pitcher, he was unable to regain his hitting ability, only hitting a ground ball to first base. His batting average has fallen sharply since July, remaining in the low 100s, and is symbolic of the overall downturn that the Dodgers' batting lineup is currently experiencing. Kim Hye-seong must have felt responsible for the departure of key resources within the team, but her pride had to be crushed as the opposing pitcher's intimidation and her own slump overlapped.

The team's star, Shohei Otani, is still doing his job, but it is not enough to lead the team to victory. In the game against Milwaukee, he appeared as the leadoff hitter in the first inning and hit a huge solo home run to give the team the lead, but the batting lineup fell silent after that, allowing a comeback. Although Ohtani continues his legendary pace by hitting his 31st home run of the season, his personal record feels somewhat overshadowed by the team's 5th straight loss. As the saying goes, baseball is ultimately a team sport, this series clearly shows that no matter how hard one superstar works, if the rest of the batting lineup does not explode and the mound does not block the opponent's backs, victory cannot be achieved.

The cause of the Dodgers' defeat was not only due to poor batting. The mound also collapsed, unable to control the opponent's persistent pursuit and slugging power. It was painful to see starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw give up a comeback by allowing consecutive hits in the fourth inning, and in the second half of the game, he even allowed the opponent's solo home run to widen the score gap. Milwaukee did not lose focus even after two outs and showed off its potential by hitting consecutive timely hits, including three home runs. The Dodgers' pitching staff was unable to stop Milwaukee's cohesion, and as a result, they lost the game with a score of 1-3 and took control of the entire series.

The biggest problems of the Dodgers revealed through this series are ‘stress’ and ‘lack of a problem solver.’ The psychological pressure of the number of five consecutive losses is showing up as players become impatient at bats, which is creating a vicious cycle that leads to an increase in strikeouts and batters. In particular, as the absence of key players due to injury has been prolonged, the burden on bench resources has increased, and opposing teams are persistently exploiting the Dodgers' weaknesses. However, the season is not over yet, and the fact that the Dodgers are maintaining first place in the National League West proves that they still have the best power in the league. It appears that the success or failure of the postseason will depend on how we overcome the current crisis.