Was it a brilliant performance for a year? Left-hander Tyler Anderson (34), who moved from the Los Angeles Dodgers to the Los Angeles Angels, has become a less than mediocre pitcher within a year. 스포츠토토

Anderson started in an away game against the Houston Astros on the 13th (Korean time) and collapsed with 6 hits (1 home run), 3 walks, 6 strikeouts and 7 runs in 4⅔ innings. Anderson was the losing pitcher as the Angels lost 3-11. 

Up until the third inning, Anderson had only one hit, but struck out four and blocked the Houston hard line without a run. However, starting with a walk by the lead batter in the 4th inning, he was hit in a row and allowed the first run, then allowed a three-run home run to Kyle Tucker. The main weapon changeup went flat and led to a long hit. 4 runs in an instant. 

In the 5th inning, after catching two outs well, he suddenly faltered. He was hit with a double by Jose Altuve, and his pitch was shaken by a series of walks, and he piled up the bases loaded crisis. Here, Tucker hit another RBI in a timely manner and was beaten. With relief Dominic Leone giving up an additional two runs, Anderson finished the game with seven runs, his personal best this season. 

According to ‘MLB.com’, after the game, Angels manager Phil Nevin said, “The pitch was good until the third inning, and the changeup was on a different level. But he lost command in the 4th or 5th inning,” he said, regretting Anderson’s sudden hunting. 

It’s not just a matter of today’s game. Anderson fell far short of expectations with 5 wins, 4 losses and an ERA of 5.28 in 21 games (20 starts, 109 innings) this season. He is not the same pitcher who was selected as an All-Star last year for the Dodgers, playing in 30 games (28 starts, 178⅔ innings) with 15 wins, 5 losses and an average ERA of 2.57. 

Anderson, who debuted with the Colorado Rockies in 2016 and went through the San Francisco Giants in 2020, the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2021, and the Seattle Mariners in 2021, was an average pitcher with a career ERA of 4.62 over six seasons during this period. However, he performed beyond expectations last year when he joined the Dodgers with a one-year, $8 million free agent contract. He didn’t miss the opportunity he got from the injuries of existing starters such as Clayton Kershaw, and recorded his first double-digit win with 15 wins in his debut. 

After the season, the Dodgers even made a one-year, $19.65 million qualifying offer to Anderson. However, Anderson refused and came to the market, and moved the team by signing a free agent contract with the Angels for 3 years and 39 million dollars. The average annual amount is high for the Dodgers, but he chose the Angels, who guaranteed a multi-year contract, and raised expectations with Shohei Ohtani and a one-two punch. 

However, a year ago, when he was with the Dodgers, Anderson was nowhere to be found. Anderson, whose trademark is a double-kicking action, is a skilled type, but the average velocity of his four-seam fastball has slightly decreased from 90.7 mph last year to 90.1 mph this year. His main weapon changeup hit rate (.179 → .256) soared, and his walks per 9 innings also soared from 1.7 to 3.9, and his command deteriorated noticeably. 

As the number of pitches increased, his inning digestibility also decreased. Last year, the Dodgers pitched 6 or more innings in 20 games, but this year, there are only 8 games. He has already gone through mid-August without any noticeable rebound, missing 9 innings even in the regulation innings. Amid the sluggish performance of Anderson, who was expected to be the second starter, the Angels were virtually eliminated from the fall baseball competition as they only ranked 21st (4.65) in starting average ERA. From the first year of his 3-year contract, he is becoming a free agent flop.