The defending champion LG Twins will form a must-win team of five to play in the remaining regular and post seasons. “The first thing to do is to decide the third place as soon as possible,” LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop said. “If I go to the playoffs, I will run the third starting pitcher.”메이저놀이터
LG will play a doubleheader with its one-roof rival Doosan Bears at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 21st.
Coach Yeom, who met in Jamsil on the 20th, when rain was canceled, expressed satisfaction with the performance of right-hander bullpen Lee Jong-joon.
Lee Jong-joon took the mound in the eighth inning against Lotte in Busan on the 19th, and allowed one walk and one scoreless inning to record his first hold. Lee Jong-joon, a 191-centimeter-tall right-hander born in 2001, was powerful in his fastball of nearly 150 kilometers.
Coach Yeom said, “The season is almost over as I experimented with (must-win) in the bullpen,” adding, “Still, (Lee) Jong-joon was the last.”
Coach Yeom Kyung-yeop worked on the puzzle of the must-win team, starting with Lee Jong-joon. The team consists of five players including left-hander Ham Deok-ju, right-hander Kim Jin-seong, Baek Seung-hyeon, and Lee Jong-jun, and closing pitcher Yoo Young-chan.
Ham Deok-ju’s return to the team was delayed this year after the surgery, but he made two holds in 12 games, and Kim Jin-sung recorded the most 25 holds in his team. Yoo Young-chan had 7 wins, 5 losses, 25 saves and one hold this year with the finishing touch responsible for the team’s back door.
In addition, right-hander Baek Seung-hyun will also play as a must-win group. Baek had only one win, one loss and two saves and one hold this year, but recorded 11 holds during the regular season last year.
“(Seung-hyun) had experience last year,” Yeom said. “Experience cannot be ignored. I think the winning team will have about five players including (Baek) Seung-hyun, Jong-jun, Jinseong, Deok-ju and Young-chan.”
Manager Yeom, who has a lot of experience in big games, vowed to set the playoffs as a three-starter system. LG had maintained five starters including Hernandez, Ends, Lim Chan-kyu, Choi Won-tae and Son Joo-young, but two of them will move to the bullpen.
On who to turn to the bullpen, Yeom said, “First of all, we should choose the one with the highest probability of winning in a short-term game. The goal is to win.”
“The most important thing is to secure the third place as soon as possible. Only then can some players take a break and prepare (for a big game),” said Yeom, who has been heavily chased by Doosan recently.
LG’s right-hander Elizer Hernandez will start in the first game of the doubleheader on the 21st, and Doosan’s native ace Kwak Bin will start.