Substitute Lee Jung-yong outperforms Ahn Woo-jin in a special pitching performance
Veteran Park Hae-min focuses on chances
The LG Twins are showing what it means to be the No. 1 team in the regular season by showing tremendous focus.
LG won a 6-3 home game against the Kiwoom Heroes of the 2023 Shinhan Bank Solar KBO League at Jamsil Stadium on April 2, led by Park Hae-min’s three-run triple in the bottom of the seventh inning.
With the score tied at 0-0 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Park hit a three-run triple to knock out Kiwoom starter Ahn Woo-jin. Park finished the day 3-for-5 with two doubles, five RBIs and one run scored.
LG’s Lee Jung-yong pitched six innings of three-hit relief to secure the win. Lee, who has mostly pitched in the bullpen since his debut, made the transition to the starting rotation and set a new club record for most innings pitched.
First-place LG (55 wins, 2 ties, 33 losses), which has won a club-record six straight games this year, extended its lead over second-place SSG Landers (50 wins, 1 tie, 37 losses) to 4.5 games.
LG, which hasn’t been at the top since winning the 1994 Korean Series, has a chance to break a 29-year drought.
LG isn’t at 100% right now, but they’re showing great focus.
Kim Yun-sik and Lee Min-ho are out of the starting lineup, and the KBO’s best closer, Go Woo-seok, has been injured and has only managed nine saves. Jung Woo-young, the bullpen ace, has been a disgrace with an ERA in the 4s.
However, the rest of the team has picked up the slack.
Lee Jung-yong, a substitute starter, has pitched better than Ahn Woo-jin, the best pitcher in the KBO.
The key to his success was trust. “Whenever I’ve started before, I’ve only faced foreign pitchers. Today, I faced Ahn Woo-jin, who is better than a mercenary,” he said. “But I went into the game thinking that no matter how bad I was, the team would win.”
He reassured himself that even if he made a mistake, his teammates would make up for it. Even when the score remained 0-0, 섯다 he remained focused as he took the mound at the beginning of each inning.
Park Hae-min is also confident in the fact that LG is a strong team. He wants the juniors to be more proud as well.
“I think today is my last day and I’m doing my best for each game,” Park said. “The players have a lot of pride in being number one, so they’re looking ahead instead of thinking about being chased. I’m thinking that we’ll be number one in the end.”
LG coach Yeom Kyung-yup also applauded the players for their six-game winning streak.
LG will look to extend their winning streak to seven games with foreign pitcher Casey Kelly in a home game against 고스톱 Kiwoom at Jamsil Stadium on March 3.