Kiwoom Heroes has won three consecutive Taiwan practice games. Cho Young-gun, who pitched two scoreless innings, and Lee Jae-sang, who played three hits, were selected as the MVP of the pitching and hitting.유흥알바
Kiwoom won 4-1 in a practice game against the Lions at Tainan City Baseball Stadium in Taiwan on the 2nd. He lost consecutively in the game of Zhongxin (8-10) on the 23rd of last month and the game of Zhongxin (2-12) on the 25th, but then won three consecutive games on the 27th, the game of Zhongxin (3-2) on the 29th, and recorded three wins and two losses in Taiwan’s practice games. Kiwoom will wrap up its Taiwan practice game schedule with the last game of the match against Ting on the 5th.
Starting pitcher Ariel Furado displayed perfect pitching with one strikeout and no run in two innings. Cho Young-gun, who took the mound afterwards, allowed two hits, one strikeout and no run in two innings, to shake off the disappointment in the previous two games.
Cho Young-gun said in an interview after the game, “My speed did not rise as much as I thought during the practice match, so I threw as hard as I could today, paying attention to my speed. Fortunately, my fastball reached 145 kilometers per hour today, and I am satisfied that I found the speed that usually comes out at this time of the year.”
“My plan was to win the game within three pitches,” Cho said. “I need to throw aggressive pitches to get through many innings. I’m fine-tuning my forkballs and curves to secure my three pitches, other than fastballs and sliders, but I think things are going well as planned so far. The weather is colder than usual today. When I get back to the hotel after the game, I need to go to a sauna. I’m going to take care of myself for the rest of the year so that I can stay in good condition without getting hurt.”
Kim Hye-sung (second baseman), Ronnie Dawson (left fielder), Lee Ju-hyung (middle fielder), Choi Joo-hwan (designated hitter), Im Ji-yeol (first baseman), Joo Sung-won (right fielder), Song Sung-moon (third baseman), Kim Dong-heon (puncher), and Lee Jae-sang (striker) started the lineup. Overall, the batting performance was good with 11 hits in the lineup, but rookie shortstop Lee Jae-sang, who played three hits alone, was outstanding.
Lee Jae-sang said, “I broke my bat in my first at-bat, and it became a hit. When I saw that, I thought, ‘It’s a doable day.’ After the last game, I went to the dorm and studied a lot while watching my batting performance video. I was watching the video and most of the balls I swung were high balls. So today, I looked at the zone a little lower and tried to hit only the balls that came into my zone. I think the timing was a little late, so I made a slight swing to the left, and it turned out to be a good result.”
Lee Jae-sang, who joined Kiwoom through the second round (16th pick) of the 2024 rookie draft, hopes to continue the genealogy of big guns and shortstop that will lead to Kang Jung-ho and Kim Ha-sung (San Diego). However, analysts say that while Lee still has talent in batting, he still has some regrets in defense. “The shortstop position is like my playground,” Lee said. “It is most convenient because I have been playing shortstop continuously. Of course, I have confidence in all positions. The Futures defensive coach Chae Jong-guk and the 1st team’s Kwon Do-young both give me lots of training as they think I am pretty. The coaches said, “You have good shoulders, so if you are good at catch, I can let out most runners.” That’s why I am paying more attention to catchment,” expressing confidence in my defense.
Lee Jae-sang, who is participating in professional spring camp training for the first time, said, “I feel a difference with amateurish players while dealing with professional pitchers. I think I want to improve myself more. I want to wrap up well and show good performances for the rest of the year.”