I was wondering if the KIA Tigers were heading to full strength, but the injured came out again.
Kia confirmed its victory after the match against the Incheon SSG Landers on the 17th. Although it lost to SSG, it also lost to Samsung, ranking second, destroying the championship magic number. With this result, Kia has topped the regular season for the first time in seven years since 2017.토토사이트
There is about a month left until the Korean Series. It is time to reorganize and come forward.
The injured are also returning one after another, raising expectations for their full strength.
First, left-hander bullpen Choi Ji-min, who recovered from an internal oblique injury, returned. He was registered in the first team entry on the day.
Choi Ji-min played a must-win group with a record of 6 wins, 3 losses, 12 saves and a 2.12 ERA last year, but slowed down to a 5.27 ERA with 2 wins, 3 losses and 11 saves this year.
“[Choi] Jimin threw well in the Futures League without getting injured. We need to use Jimin in the Korean Series, so we will be able to position ourselves,” KIA manager Lee Bum-ho said. “We are going through a tough time this year, but if we pass it well, we will have a much better performance next year and the year after next year. We will prepare well so that our conditions can improve in the remaining games.”
On the day, Choi took the mound as the third pitcher of his team. Taking the mound in the bottom of the fourth inning when his team was losing 2-6, Choi caught Heo Kyung-min well, but Yang Eui-ji hit a solo homer. He had one hit (one homer) and one walk, one strikeout, and one run in one inning.
Starting resources will also return. Left-hander Yoon Young-chul is close to returning. Yoon Young-chul left in July due to a spinal fatigue fracture.
He started in the game against Lotte’s second division on the 17th and scored one run in three innings.
“I will return to Gwangju and have him throw the ball in the first game against NC Dinos (on June 21). And I plan to send him as a starter in one of the last two away games,” Lee said. Hence, Yoon will likely take the mound as a starting pitcher in the match against Hanwha on April 27 or the match against Lotte on April 28.
“Ace” James Nail, who suffered a broken jaw, is also recovering well. Although he cannot take the mound during the regular season, he is more likely to watch it in the Korean Series.
“I don’t play during the regular season. I’m going to make him throw at practice games to check his condition,” Lee said. “I’m throwing balls right now, and I think I can throw as many as 70 to 80 pitches through the phased-in pitching program (ITP). I think I can throw as a starter without any problems in the Korean Series.”
As such, the starter and bullpen resources have returned one by one or are ready to return.
However, Eric Stout, who came as a short-term part-timer on the day, collapsed during the pitch due to thigh pain.
In fact, this was not the day Stout took the mound. It was Eric Lauer’s turn to take the mound, but the game was postponed due to poor fingernails, and Stout took the mound first.
He stopped it well in the first inning, but it collapsed in the bottom of the second inning. After getting a double from Kim Jae-hwan, he got a timely double from Jarrod to allow his first run. With two outs and runners on second base, Kim Jae-ho hit a timely RBI single and turned the tables. Afterwards, he was shaken by another big double from Lee Yoo-chan. Jung Soo-bin was upset at bat. After a full count match with Jung Soo-bin, he threw the seventh ball, and fell down feeling pain in his thigh. He tried to keep throwing the ball, but he had no choice but to come down from the mound.
It appears that he was not seriously injured. Stout was caught watching the game from the bench. He will check his condition tomorrow and undergo a hospital examination.
If Stout falls, Kia will not be able to complete its full capacity until the end of the regular season. Stout is contractually only allowed to throw pennant races. Attention is focusing on the state of the stout to see if it will be able to achieve a successful completion.