LG’s strength lies in its back door. From 2021 to last year, LG has never missed out on the top earned run average among relief pitchers.
This year, LG opened the season with anxiety of the must-win group. This is because of the departure of the main players.
Ko Woo-seok (Miami Marlins), who played as the team’s closing pitcher, advanced to the U.S., and Ham Deok-ju went into rehabilitation due to elbow surgery. After the opening, Kim Jin-sung, Baek Seung-hyun, and Jung Woo-young stayed in the second division due to poor conditions and injuries.
As the back door failed to hold on, LG also failed to advance in the initial race. Until April, LG’s relief pitchers ranked sixth with an earned run average of 4.40.
After going through trial and error, the relief team is showing more solid performance this month. Since May, LG’s relief team has posted an average earned run of 1.86, ranking No. 1 during the period.
In the game against the Lotte Giants on Sunday, LG’s bullpen session also shone. While Kang Hyo-jong, who started as substitute starter, allowed three runs in the first ⅓, six pitchers blocked the remaining seven ⅔ to lead his team to a 6-4 win. “Our bullpen played a good role,” LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop said after the game.
Yoo Young-chan, who took over Ko’s position, pitched 21 innings in 20 games, winning one game, 10 saves and posting 1.71 ERA, making a successful transformation into a closing pitcher. Veteran Kim Jin-sung has been pitching in eight recent games without allowing a single goal, and Jung Woo-young, who joined the first team late last month, has also been supporting himself with stable pitching. Kim Yu-young, who failed to appear in the first team due to elbow bone fragment surgery last year, is also doing his part this year.
Amid growing trust in the new must-win group, the remaining concerns for the LG mound are foreign pitchers Casey Kelly and Detrick Ens.
In his sixth year in the KBO league, he has had only one win, four losses and a 5.52 ERA in eight games this year. He has lost points in all of the games he played this year. New foreign pitcher N.S. has won four games (one loss), but is showing signs of improvement with a 4.66 ERA.
“It is important for foreign pitchers to come alive,” Yeom said. “That part determines 50 percent of the team’s strength. I think the key to the rest of the season is whether or not the first and second starting pitchers will come alive. If these players come alive, they will be able to maintain their balance and improve the rest of the season.
BY: 토토사이트