The 21-year-old starting member who’s committed to the end
KIA Tigers won all three consecutive away games in Changwon against the NC Dinos over the weekend. It was an unforeseen harvest, even manager Lee Bum-ho. He was chased by one game and had to be a substitute starter for two games. Leading the team, Mercury, was in danger, but achieved a reversal sweep. Now it is three games ahead of second-place Samsung and four games ahead of third-place NC. It turned the crisis into an opportunity. It was a valuable result that everyone achieved together.
The first game of the weekend series Thursday was a game that left a sense of depth in the bullpen. Kim Geon-guk, a substitute starter, went down due to injury in the first inning. It felt as if he was giving up the game. However, left-hander Kim Sa-yoon allowed one run in three innings and right-hander Kim Do-hyeon allowed one run in two innings. As the batters exploded, Lee Joon-young and Jeon Sang-hyun pitched one scoreless inning each.
It was a valuable result of more than one win. Kim Sa-yoon and Kim Do-hyun blocked five innings in a game in which four of the team’s winning players could not afford to play, including closing pitcher Jung Hae-young and closing pitcher Jang Hyun-sik and Choi Ji-man and Kwak Do-gyu. Kim overpowered the opponent by throwing a change-up on his 145-km fastball. Kim Do-hyun is a right-handed middleman, who showed off his competitiveness by throwing a 150-km pitch. The two pitchers in the chasing group gained great confidence through the game. Expectations are high that it will give a big boost to their tired bullpen.
Sunday’s game was Hwang Dong-ha’s day. He has been gradually enhancing the completeness of starting pitchers by starting as an alternative to Lee. He pitched five innings of one run and secured his first win since his debut. As he gained speed, throwing an average of 145 kilometers, his new flagship weapon, forkball, has become more powerful. His sliders and curves have become sharp.
Increasingly, he is displaying his ability as a starting pitcher so that he does not feel empty of objection anymore. Expectations are rising that he may keep the starting position even if Lee Eui-ri and Lim Ki-young return. In particular, manager Lee Bum-ho plans to return Lim Ki-young as a starting pitcher to make up for Will Crow’s absence from injury. If Hwang Dong-ha throws consistently, the plan could be withdrawn.
The team secured the first and second rounds, which had expected a difficult game, affecting the third round. Starting pitcher Yang Hyeon-jong pitched six innings with one run and won the game 2-1. Lee Woo-sung hit a come-from-behind final solo shot with two outs in the top of the ninth inning. Jung Hae-young achieved the sweep by keeping a step in the ninth inning. It is the first time in 2,884 days that the team has swept three consecutive games in Changwon.
Na Sung-beom also contributed significantly to the team’s poor performance. He had three hits and four RBIs, including a two-run homer, in his first game on Tuesday, to lead the team’s victory. He announced his recovery by making three hits and four RBIs at the Doosan Bears game in Gwangju on Tuesday last week, and sent a clear signal of recovery on the day. Lee Woo-sung also hit a finishing homer off Lee Yong-chan, the closing pitcher of Game 3, to let his parents cry. Kim Do-young, who is struggling with symptoms of enteritis, contributed to the team’s victory by making three hits, two RBIs and one run at the game on Sunday.
Jeong Hae-young’s dedication to the game was also applauded. With a five-point lead in the game on Sunday, he pitched in the ninth inning and allowed one hit and no run in an inning. He took the mound to protect Hwang’s first win. It is unusual for Hwang to take the mound as a finishing pitcher with a five-point gap. He did not hesitate to take the mound to give his junior a chance to win.
Choi Hyung-woo, the oldest player in the team, came out of a crisis situation where he was tired from fighting the Doosan Bears in the 12th inning of extra time in Gwangju the previous day ahead of the first game. “Our pitchers are having a hard time. We had another difficult game yesterday. Let’s focus on important moments and run away one by one,” he said, invoking his team’s victory. This provided a glimpse into the atmosphere of the original team. The three consecutive sweeps were all the more special.
BY: 안전 토토사이트