'I almost became an LG killer...' Three-run bang! Still, Kim Jin-wook did not avoid it. I can see three runs and four wins in five innings
Jul 25, 2024
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Kim Jin-wook started at home against LG at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 25th and recorded six hits (one home run), one walk, six strikeouts and three runs in five innings. He was replaced by Han Hyun-hee in the top of the sixth inning with a 5-3 lead, and met the requirements for a winning pitcher for his fourth win of the season.
With Park Se-woong on the 24th and Kim Jin-wook on the 25th, the game was canceled on the 24th, and I wondered who would start on the 25th, but Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyung chose Kim Jin-wook. Park Se-woong will start against the Changwon NC Dinos on the 26th. Manager Kim said "NC has a lot of right-handed hitters and LG has a lot of left-handed hitters…," he said, explaining why he chose Kim Jin-wook as the starter.
Park Se-woong did not have a very good opponent against LG this season. He took the mound in three games with a 1-1 record and a 5.09 ERA.
Kim Jin-wook, who will meet LG for the first time this season, had the best career performance with LG. He played in 10 games (two starts) and recorded a 2.60 ERA with two wins and no losses.
I took the mound twice as a starter in 2022, and both were good. He started in Jamsil on May 1 and became a winning pitcher with a 4-0 victory with one hit, one walk, two walks and four strikeouts in six innings, and also started in Jamsil on July 1 and allowed five hits, three walks, five strikeouts and one run in five innings.
Kim Jin-wook's ball control, which was pointed out as a weakness, has stabilized since he joined the first team in late May. He has three wins, no losses and an earned run average of 4.14 in nine games (eight starts), and while playing 41 ⅓ innings, he garnered 37 strikeouts and only 18 walks. In the match against the Daegu Samsung Lions on the 19th, which was the previous game, expectations were high for the game against LG, which had a good batting performance, with its second quality start and its third win of the season with five hits (one home run), three walks, seven strikeouts and two runs in six innings.
We got off to a good start. He finished the first and second innings with a three-and-out series. I had my first crisis in the top of the third inning. He allowed Park Hae-min, the first-runner, to hit the right field and started at first base with no outs. He caught No. 8 Shin Min-jae's ground ball and missed it, but quickly caught it again and threw it to first base to get out, with one out and runners on second base. He struck out No. 9 Kim Sung-woo with a rookie strikeout, but after a full count match with No. 1 Hong Chang-ki, he walked him to first and second bases with two outs. He escaped the crisis by treating No. 2 Oh Ji-hwan with a foul fly to the third baseman.
In the top of the fourth inning, after catching No. 3 Austin and No. 4 Moon Bo-kyung well, he got consecutive hits from No. 5 Park Dong-won and No. 6 Kim Hyun-soo, driving them to first and second bases. Fortunately, Park Hae-min continued to score no runs with a 143km fastball and a strikeout.
While Kim Jin-wook silenced the LG lineup, Lotte scored four points in the bottom of the first inning while LG starter Choi Won-tae was sent off with a head shot and added one point in the bottom of the fourth inning by taking advantage of the opponent's error, creating a generous 5-0 lead.
The top of the fifth inning was the last hurdle. The first-runner Shin Min-jae allowed an infield hit deep in the shortstop, and after one out, Hong Chang-ki hit a double that fell inside the left foul line, causing the biggest crisis for runners on second and third bases with one out. Oh Ji-hwan was caught with a short left field fly, but failed to stop Austin. In 2B1S, he hit a slider that was driven to the middle of 130km for the fourth pitch. a three-run shot that goes far beyond. He caught Moon Bo-kyung with a ground ball in front of the first baseman and finished the fifth inning.
It was a pity that Austin had a three-run shot, but it was positive to give up only one walk. He focused on up to 146km of fastballs (41) and 133km of sliders (43), adding 124km of curves (11) and 137km of forkballs (1), preventing five innings with 96.
indyk@sportschosun.com
