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| ▲ In this USA Today Sports photo via Reuters, Kim Kwang-hyun of the St. Louis Cardinals pitches against the Miami Marlins in the top of the first inning of a Major League Baseball regular season game at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on June 15, 2021. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ In this Associated Press photo, Kim Kwang-hyun of the St. Louis Cardinals pitches against the Miami Marlins in the top of the third inning of a Major League Baseball regular season game at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on June 15, 2021. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ In this Getty Images photo, Kim Kwang-hyun of the St. Louis Cardinals pitches against the Miami Marlins in the top of the first inning of a Major League Baseball regular season game at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on June 15, 2021. (Yonhap) |
MLB-Cardinals pitcher
Cardinals' Kim Kwang-hyun takes no-decision in up-and-down start
By Yoo Jee-ho
SEOUL, June 16 (Yonhap) -- St. Louis Cardinals' South Korean starter Kim Kwang-hyun took a no-decision in his first start back from a stint on the injured list (IL), as his struggles with command continued.
Kim gave up a run on three hits in six innings against the Miami Marlins at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Tuesday (local time). He allowed a season-worst five walks and was lucky to keep the Marlins to a run, as the Cardinals rallied for a 2-1 win.
Kim hasn't won since April 23 and had lost four consecutive decisions coming into this one. He remained 1-4 and lowered his ERA from 4.05 to 3.72 ERA.
This was Kim's first start since June 4. He went on the 10-day IL after that game with lower back tightness, the same ailment that sidelined him at the start of the season.
Kim put two men aboard with two outs in the first inning after a single and a walk but retired Jesus Sanchez on a groundout to keep the Marlins off the board.
Kim pitched into more trouble in the second inning, walking Jon Berti to start the frame. With two outs, Kim walked the opposing pitcher, Trevor Rogers, on four pitches, but then Jazz Chisholm got Kim off the hook by flying out to right.
Kim kept walking the tightrope in the third and finally blinked. The Marlins went walk-single-single against Kim to get the first run across, with cleanup Adam Duvall delivering the RBI single to left. Kim then pulled off an impressive escape act by getting three groundouts to keep it a 1-0 game.
Kim settled down nicely afterward. He had his first clean inning in the fourth and pitched around a one-out walk in the fifth. Kim retired the side in order in the sixth, which included two strikeouts.
The Cardinals tied things up at 1-1 in the sixth, and Genesis Cabrera took over from Kim to start the seventh inning. They walked off on the Marlins in the bottom of the ninth thanks to Paul Goldschmidt's solo blast.
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