The 3 home games with Hanwha, which started on the 4th, were very important for the KIA, which created an upward trend in the second half. This is because it was a time when it was possible to gauge whether it was continuing the trend and heading toward a 50% win rate recovery, or whether the current upward trend would soon break again.먹튀검증
The first edition on the 4th was important. However, internally, there were many difficult circumstances. From the 1st to the 3rd, it was the KIA that fought bloody battles against Samsung in Pohang. As a result, the bullpen situation was not easy. To put it a little exaggeratedly, it was a ‘worn out’. None of the starting pitchers pitched 6 innings throughout the 3 games. On the contrary, the batting line functioned fine and it became a game that could not be given up, so naturally an all-out bullpen battle broke out.
On the 1st, a total of 6 bullpen pitchers stepped on the mound as starter Mario Sanchez only had 4 innings. From the start of the week, the bullpen’s attendance check began. On the 2nd, 7 pitchers came out of the bullpen door. In effect, the power in the bullpen was turned on. In the game on the 3rd, 6 players also sortied. Ji-Min Choi, Sang-Hyun Jeon, and Joon-Young Lee, the key set-up men in the bullpen, appeared all three days. Naturally, there was no suitable bullpen pitcher for the game on the 4th.
The flow of the game was not bad until the 6th inning. Starting pitcher Yoon Young-chul, who said, “I went to the mound with the thought that I must take responsibility for 6 innings,” overcame several crises and blocked his goal of 6 innings with 3 runs. The batting line also scored points at the right time, leading 7-3 until the 6th inning. It was a moment when the bullpen took a breather, but someone had to take responsibility for the remaining three innings. KIA, who overturned the game in the Pohang 3-game series, knew better that the difference of 4 points in baseball these days was not as big as expected.
The choice of the KIA bench was Lim Ki-young (30), perhaps too predictably. Lim Ki-young, who changed his position from the starter to the bullpen this year, was the support or guardian of the KIA bullpen. He took the mound regardless of the situation and successfully took charge of the team’s game. On this day, he played 40 games and played 57 innings before the game. He had the most innings pitched by any league bullpen pitcher.
In fact, it is a schedule that would be exhausting for Lim Ki-young as well. No, it’s normal to be tired. He didn’t have a 3-game fight, but he went out in both the 1st and 2nd games. Last weekend, he also appeared in all three consecutive games with Lotte. He was on a five-game streak, albeit with a Monday rest day jammed in. There was no way that such fatigue would be completely relieved with a day of rest on the 3rd. However, Lim Ki-young saw his bullpen situation and rather burned a sense of responsibility. He has a four-point lead, and he knew he had to hold on to that long.
Regarding the situation at the time, Lim Ki-young recalled, “I thought I could go to multiple innings.” Since there were three players who had three consecutive fights, the number of players who could pitch in the bullpen was limited, and the remaining innings were three innings, and the team had to play two more games on the weekend. He pitched with the determination to take responsibility for as many out counts as possible. And the result was a great success. Maybe it was a success that was possible because it was Lim Ki-young.
Lim Ki-yeong, a sidearm player, is not a fast player. The number of strikeouts per 9 innings, one of the measures of pitch, is relatively average at 6.41. However, based on his good control that crosses the strike zone slightly, he leads the batters’ bats and creates missed hits. In this game, Lim Ki-young’s characteristics shined. He tried to win quickly, and this led to good results, and he was responsible for a total of 6 out counts, which was the best performance.
In the 7th episode, Kim Tae-yeon, Roh Si-hwan and Moon Hyun-bin were all hit. While confining all batted balls to the infield, only 7 balls were thrown. His multi-inning physical loss is obvious, but the number of pitches is not small, so he has a foothold to go to the next inning. Looking back, Lim Ki-young said, “I originally had an aggressive throwing tendency, but Hanwha hitters also had a strong aggressive tendency.”
Lim Ki-young, who was still on the mound in the 8th inning when the team was leading 7-3, pitched with extreme efficiency this time too. He cooked Kim In-hwan with a left fielder, Ha Seok-soo with a grounder at first base, and Park Sang-eon with a grounder at third base, and finished the two innings with six batters perfect. He also pitched 7 pitches in the 8th inning and pitched 2 innings with 14 pitches. In the end, the team took the lead by adding two more runs in the 8th inning, leading 7-3, and in the 9th, Kim Ki-hoon, who had not had many chances to pitch recently, finished the game with one inning.
As of the 5th, Lim Ki-young is making an outstanding performance with an average ERA of 2.44 with 1 win, 1 loss, 2 saves, and 11 holds in 41 games of the season. His save or hold record may not be special, but Lim Ki-young’s contribution to the mound regardless of the situation in each game is definitely the best among the bullpen pitchers in the league. He lost by one or two points as well as in the hold situation, but when he had to walk the game, faced the opponent’s best batting order, and even when the finish collapsed or was uneasy, he climbed the mound and silently did his part.
As a result, he has already pitched 59 innings. Even in the midst of that, his on-base per inning (WHIP) is only 0.88. It’s a huge salty water pitch. However, what many are concerned about is the stamina at the end of the season. Some even bring out the word ‘overkill’. However, Lim Ki-yeong reassures those around him that he still has strength. And burning a sense of responsibility for his teammates.
Lim Ki-young said, “Originally, if I rest for a long time, my body gets heavier. Yesterday (3rd), I took a day off, and it seems that I was in good shape and in good physical condition.” It is not a style that puts a lot of effort into pitching, and the experience of a veteran cannot be ignored. Perhaps, even if the same situation as on the 4th comes again, Lim Ki-young will volunteer to play multi-innings to save another bullpen pitcher. Lim Ki-young’s engine is still running strong, fueled by that sense of responsibility.