Seoul: The Samsung Lions have announced the extension of their contract with injury replacement pitcher Jack O'Loughlin through the end of next month. The Lions revealed this decision prior to their Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) regular-season game on Wednesday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, O'Loughlin, an Australian left-hander, initially joined the team on a six-week contract valued at US$50,000, signed on March 16. He was brought in as a temporary replacement for American pitcher Matt Manning, who sustained an elbow injury during spring training in February. O'Loughlin's contract extension provides him with an additional $30,000, securing his services through May 31.

KBO clubs have been permitted to acquire temporary replacements for injured foreign players who are expected to be out for at least six weeks since last year. The Lions quickly signed O'Loughlin after his impressive performance at the World Baseball Classic, where he allowed just one unearned run over 6 1/3 innings, including a game against South Korea.

In his six starts in the KBO up to now, O'Loughlin has achieved a 0-2 record with a 4.50 ERA, recording 27 strikeouts and 12 walks in 28 innings. Despite some initial challenges, O'Loughlin has recently shown improvement. On April 18, he was working on 3 1/3 scoreless innings against the LG Twins before an automatic ejection for hitting a batter in the head with a fastball. Five days later, he pitched six innings of one-run ball and struck out a season-high eight batters against the SSG Landers.

Lions manager Park Jin-man expressed optimism about O'Loughlin's future with the team, stating, "O'Loughlin has been excellent, and if he can build on this, we may keep him around for the entire season. He had some ups and downs earlier in the year, but he has steadied himself."

On Wednesday, O'Loughlin delivered his second consecutive quality start by holding the Doosan Bears to three runs in six innings, although he received a loss as the Bears defeated the Lions 4-0. O'Loughlin's fielding independent pitching (FIP) stands at 3.24, which is notably lower than his ERA. This discrepancy suggests that while his performance has been strong, he may have been affected by factors beyond his control, such as defensive support.