'A total of 17 innings, one earned run ERA 0.53'2nd game winning pitcher →3rd game winning pitcher → foreign ace of fighting spirit' LG's best scenario in Game 5. Can KT be put to rest with three starters?
Oct 11, 2024
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In Game 4 of the semi-playoff against KT Wiz in Suwon on the 9th, LG lost the game by making infield hits as shortstop Oh Ji-hwan and second baseman Shin Min-jae collided while trying to catch both of Shim Woo-joon's hit with the pitcher and fell back with the bases loaded with two outs in the bottom of the 11th inning.
After finishing Game 4 and taking three days off to replenish his physical strength, he met the second-place Samsung Lions and beat them to reach the Korean Series, but the future is now invisible. I'm going to play the final game where I have to win Game 5 right away.
There is still concern about the mound, especially the bullpen. In Game 4, bullpen pitchers had to take the mound earlier due to the sudden collapse of the starter Detrickens in the fourth inning, and even second-tier players had to be put in as they went to extra time. Fortunately, Ham Deok-ju, Baek Seung-hyun, and Jung Woo-young pitched well, which is a positive point that the depth of the bullpen has widened.
However, we cannot blindly raise them in Game 5. Only the most reliable pitchers should be raised to prevent KT's batters.
The best scenario is that only the best pitchers in this semi-PO will come out.
Lim Chan-gyu, Son Joo-young, and Hernandez are the most ideal.
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Son Joo-young is waiting behind well-throwed Lim Chan-kyu. Son Joo-young took the mound following starter Choi Won-tae in Game 3 of the semi-PO held in Suwon on the 8th and became the winning pitcher with two hits, no four outs and seven strikeouts in five ⅓ innings. It was his first postseason appearance, and he had a relief win like a starter.
The most obvious way is to close the game by raising Hernandez immediately after Son Joo-young stopped it until the 7th and 8th innings. There is a closing Yoo Young-chan, but he is mentally and physically in a difficult situation because he suffered his father's injury ahead of the semi-PO and went to the funeral. In fact, he took the mound in Games 2, 3, and 4, but he showed difficulty in controlling the ball.
Hernandez has shown fighting spirit pitching in this series. Hernandez, who threw 27 in the first game and 38 in the second game, was not planned to come out in the third game, but when he was chased 6-5 in the bottom of the ninth inning, he took the mound and lightly finished the remaining two outcounts with four balls. In Game 4, he took the mound in the bottom of the eighth inning and blocked two innings with 32. He has pitched in all four games in five days and has thrown 101 pitches in six ⅓ innings to keep his team scoreless.
In this semi-PO, the three pitched 17 innings in total, with a total of two runs and one earned run. The ERA is only 0.53. It is calculated that if they throw Game 5 as it is now, they can sufficiently prevent KT's batters.
If the batting line explodes here, it can be a safe victory. However, since this series was decided by one point except for Game 3, Game 5 is also likely to lead to a close game, so how much the mound blocks is expected to be the key to victory.
indyk@sportschosun.com
