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At the opening game of the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League against the Hanwha Eagles, LG won the game 8-2 at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on Sunday. It was an ideal combination of pitching and hitting. 토토사이트링크 All the batters had a hit, and the mound had quality start by starting pitchers and no run by the bullpen to complete the clean-up game.
With closer Ko Woo-suk's entry into the U.S., Lee Jung-yong's enlistment in the military, and surgery by Jung Woo-young and Ham Deok-ju, LG has built up its bullpen capability early in the season. Some view the bullpen as LG's unstable factor, but the start was literally perfect. Kim Jin-sung, Park Myung-geun and Lee Woo-chan, who took over the mound after starting pitcher Detrick N.S. went down after allowing seven hits, three outs and two runs in six innings, ended the game "perfect" without allowing Hanwha batters to get on base even once. Even if it wasn't a tight situation, it was definitely meaningful to end the game without a single walk.
Taking the mound in the top of the seventh inning with his team leading 6-2, Kim Jin-seong grounded out Moon Hyun-bin to the first base, and Kim Kang-min to the left field fly ball. Then, he gave a strikeout to Ha Joo-suk and handed over the mound to Park Myung-geun in the top of the eighth inning. With LG's additional score tying the game at 7-2, Park struck out Choi Jae-hoon, and Jung Eun-won fouled third baseman at the first pitch. Then, Jonathan Pereza struck out. Park finished the first inning with just seven pitches. In the top of the ninth inning with his team leading 8-2, Lee Woo-chan grounded out Moon Hyun-bin, Kim Kang-min, and Kim Tae-yeon. The three pitchers managed only 31 pitches.
Manager Yeom Kyung-yeop said, "Yoo Young-chan, Park Myung-geun, Baek Seung-hyun, and Kim Jin-sung are the must-win groups. Among them, Jinseong will be the fastest, and if Jinseong is a little bad, the best pitcher will be the next to the starter. After the starter, we can leave a runner and it's the timing to cut it off, so we're going to start with Jinseong, who has the most experience."
Coach Yeom Kyung-yeop expects someone to newly establish himself this year, just as new faces such as Park Myung-geun and Yoo Young-chan came out when existing bullpens were shaken by sluggishness and injuries last year. Manager Yeom Kyung-yeop thinks that only then can the team become stronger not only this year but also in the future.
"I think it will be important whether Woo-chan, (Kim) Yoo-young, (Yoon) Hoseol will take the same team to the next level again this year," Yeom said. "We need to raise young players to build a dynasty that we think of. If Jeong-yong and Deok-ju join next year, we will be able to create a bullpen depth that other teams do not have. Those areas need to be filled in order to become a dynasty," he predicted.
Meanwhile, Jung, who underwent surgery to remove bone fragments from his elbow in November last year, decided to start first in the Futures League and call up when he believes he is in perfect physical condition. "I left it to myself. I told him to contact the pitching coach when he was perfectly ready," manager Yeom Kyung-yeop said.
Coach Yeom said, "Rather than doing it quickly, I think it will be of great help to himself and the team if Woo-young comes up and plays in a more mature way." Woo-young is a player with a certain career, so the first thing is to come to a situation where he can do well rather than come quickly. My hope is that he will play a role in the winning group when he comes up."