Dodgers Keep Park in Pitching Rotation
By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Park Chan-ho failed to earn his fifth win of the year on Saturday, despite allowing one run in six innings against the San Francisco Giants.
In addition, his team also failed to steal the top place in the National League (NL) West division from the Arizona Diamondbacks due to the day's loss.
However, the 35-year-old South Korean veteran has a reason to hold his head high: He is remaining in the rotation.
Dodgers manager Joe Torre said Park would remain in the rotation up to the All-Star break, which starts July 14 and lasts four days.
Park will take the place of Brad Penny, who is expected to recover from a shoulder injury and retake his spot. The hard-throwing ace felt discomfort in his right shoulder during simulation pitching Saturday and will not return before the intermission.
As a result, Park will pitch against the Florida Marlins, who rank second in the NL East division behind the Philadelphia Phillies, Thursday (Friday morning in Korean Standard Time).
Park's strong displays could make it difficult for Torre to adjust his rotation for the second half of the season even if Penny comes back healthy.
Park, who is 4-2 with one save and a 2.38 ERA with most of his work coming out of the bullpen, has a 1.29 ERA in his last four starts.
Although he was limited to one victory in those outings, he threw 21 innings and gave up three runs on 13 hits, while striking out 26.
His chronic issue, walks, has staggeringly reduced, as he's recorded a 3.7-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
For the first time since June 2006 when he pitched for the San Diego Padres, Park's had two consecutive quality starts, which are earned by completing at least six innings and permitting no more than three earned runs.
Despite his age, he threw 150kph fastballs until the sixth inning in Saturday's game and did not allow any Giant to hit beyond the infield. The performance was reminiscent of his past success, when he notched double-digit win totals for five straight years from 1997-2001, posting a 75-49 record during that time.
