Rick Understands Batters Better and Pitches Well; Brothers' Manager Considers Putting Him Back in the Starting Rotation
CTBC Brothers pitcher Rick pitched his longest innings since coming to Taiwan in his return to the starting lineup. Manager Keiichi Hirano intends to keep him in the starting rotation.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 19, 2026 at 18:28
- 🔍 Collected: April 19, 2026 at 19:00 (32 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 19, 2026 at 19:28 (27 min after Collected)
Rick gave up a total of 10 runs in 8 innings in his first two starts before coming to Taiwan. After experiencing two games in a relief role, he returned to the starting lineup yesterday and pitched his longest innings since arriving in Taiwan. He said in a joint media interview today: "I feel good, much better than the previous few games, moving in a positive direction."
Because he served as a relief pitcher in other professional baseball leagues over the past few years, Rick believes that after transitioning to a starter, he needs to adjust his mindset. The two games back in relief were not a huge help, "but every time I pitch, I can understand the batters better, and every game is a learning experience."
Keiichi Hirano pointed out that Rick successfully defended a crisis in the 5th inning yesterday, but failed to finish the 6th inning because he gave up a home run. He hopes Rick can prepare for the next game with two mindsets: "having pitched into the 6th inning" and "the regret of missing by one pitch." "He will currently be in the rotation."
Before giving up that home run, Rick repeatedly shook his head while communicating with catcher Kao Yu-chieh. He reconstructed the situation: because he hadn't thrown many fastballs in the previous innings and was confident in his fastball that day, "I wanted to change the pitch sequence and use high pitches to bait," but the result was unsuccessful. (Editor: Kuan Chung-wei) 1150419
Because he served as a relief pitcher in other professional baseball leagues over the past few years, Rick believes that after transitioning to a starter, he needs to adjust his mindset. The two games back in relief were not a huge help, "but every time I pitch, I can understand the batters better, and every game is a learning experience."
Keiichi Hirano pointed out that Rick successfully defended a crisis in the 5th inning yesterday, but failed to finish the 6th inning because he gave up a home run. He hopes Rick can prepare for the next game with two mindsets: "having pitched into the 6th inning" and "the regret of missing by one pitch." "He will currently be in the rotation."
Before giving up that home run, Rick repeatedly shook his head while communicating with catcher Kao Yu-chieh. He reconstructed the situation: because he hadn't thrown many fastballs in the previous innings and was confident in his fastball that day, "I wanted to change the pitch sequence and use high pitches to bait," but the result was unsuccessful. (Editor: Kuan Chung-wei) 1150419