Kingham Roughed Up in Second KBO Start

With Major League Baseball on hold, we are following former Pirates pitching prospect Nick Kingham as he navigates his first KBO season. He got roughed up in his second outing and had to exit the game during the fourth inning in what would be a 9-5 loss for his team.

After an impressive start to his Korean Baseball Organization career, former Pittsburgh Pirates pitching prospect Nick Kingham made his second start of the season for the SK Wyverns against one of the top teams in the KBO, the LG Twins. He impressed his first time out, allowing three runs over seven innings of work in the opener, and was looking to continue to get better heading into his second start of the year. However, the second start of the season wasn't nearly as good for Kingham (0-2) as the best that the KBO had to offer knocked him around throughout the night.

Kingham lasted just 3.2 innings of work giving up five earned runs on 10 hits while walking two and striking out two. He gave up at least one run in three of the four innings that he pitched in and did not nearly have the effect that he did in his first start of the season. He gave up double-digit hits for the first time this season, and his breaking stuff was not nearly as effective as the first time he took the mound. His ERA ballooned to 6.75 and he added just two strikeouts to his season total and now has four in 10.2 innings of work for the Wyverns. After his team went 1-2-3 in the top of the first, Kingham took the hill in the bottom half looking to keep the game scoreless.

However, the Twins jumped on Kingham right from the get-go with back-to-back singles to start the game putting runners on first and third with no outs. A fielder's choice by the Twins' Chae Eun-Sung brought in the first run of the game and had the Wyverns down 1-0. Kingham's teammates would help him out in the top of the second as he got his first run support of the season. After a walk by Jamie Romak started the inning, Han Dong-min blasted a two-run home run over the right-field wall, his first of the season, and the Wyverns would take a 2-1 lead. Kingham had a 1-2-3 bottom of the second inning and the Wyverns led 2-1 after two innings of work.

The Twins were back at it in the bottom of the third as Kingham gave up a leadoff single before a double by Kim Hyun-soo would tie the game at 2-2. Two batters later, that tie would be broken as Roberto Ramos hit a two-run home run and the LG Twins extended their lead to 4-2. The Wyverns got a run back in the top of the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Dong-min and the teams headed to the bottom of the fourth with the Twins leading 4-3. This is where the flood gates would open as LG scored four runs in the bottom of the fourth and broke away for good pushing their lead to 8-3 at the end of the fourth inning. 

Only one of those runs was charged to Kingham, set up by two singles to start the inning that put runners on first and second with one out. Kim Hyun-soo would drive in the first run of the inning with an RBI single and the Twins were out to a 5-3 lead. Two batters later, Kingham's night was over as he had already thrown 98 pitches on the night. The start was a bit of a setback for the young pitcher as he looks to revitalize his career overseas and find his way back to the MLB at some point, whether that be with Pittsburgh or another organization. The Wyverns would score two more runs in the game, but it wasn't enough to come back as they fell 9-5.

The SK Wyverns have had a slow start to the 2020 season going just 1-6 over their first seven games of the season. However, it is still early and they have time to make up for their early-season struggles. They have one more game against the LG Twins before they start a three-game set against the NC Dinos over the weekend. As for Kingham, his next scheduled start would be on May 19th when the Wyverns take on the Kiwoom Heroes. Kingham will be looking to get back on track and show that he can rebound after a rough outing.

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