Avila Earns 8th Win of Season With Dominant Complete Game

Avila, the super ace every team has been wary of since joining the league, shut down hitters' timing with a sinking fastball topping 155 km/h. After giving up a home run in the fourth inning, he regained his composure and put on a strikeout show, and in the eighth he induced a double play to manage his pitch count as he went the full nine innings. Reporters at the ballpark said Avila, who ended SSG's losing streak to reach 8 wins, has already thrown a second complete game, making him the best foreign pitcher of the second half.

Since joining the league, Avila has put on a performance worthy of a super ace, using a sinking fastball of 155 km/h or more to effectively shut down hitters' timing. Even after giving up a home run in the fourth inning, he regained his composure, put on a strikeout show, and overcame the jam. In the eighth he induced a double play to control his pitch count and kept the mound through the ninth.

Avila took the mound in the ninth and threw a 158 km/h fastball to strike out the leadoff hitter Lee Jae-hyeon, keeping his stuff intact.

He finished the game by striking out the final batter, Moon Jeong-bin, with a 156 km/h sinker. His sinker had heavy movement, and hitters struggled to attack it.

Today's complete game is the first time in the franchise's history, including the SK days before SSG, that a pitcher has recorded two complete-game wins in one season, etching Avila's name into the team record books.

If Avila joins the team early next season and is used for the full year, the SSG pitching staff's strength is expected to rise considerably.