“I thought about just throwing a slider, but when I got on the mound, I couldn’t think of anything.”
Go Woo-seok (LG Twins) entered the game with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning against the KT Wiz of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, South Korea, on Friday and pitched 1⅔ innings of scoreless baseball with one hit and one strikeout to earn his 13th save of the season.
Go took the mound in the bottom of the eighth inning with a 5-4 lead. Things were not looking good. Park Myung-geun walked with one out, gave up a double to Jang Jang-woo, and then walked Kim Min-hyuk. With runners on first and second, Go Woo-seok took the mound. Go induced a ground ball to the shortstop against Lee Ho-yeon. Oh Ji-hwan caught the ball and immediately touched the second base and made an accurate throw to first base to end the inning.
After getting out of a big jam in the bottom of the eighth, Go Woo-seok took the mound in the ninth and led off with a fly ball to right field. He gave up a single to Moon Sang-chul to load the bases, but got Choi Soo-ho to fly out to shortstop and Hwang Jae-gyun to strike out to end the game.
Manager Yoon Kyung-yeop said, “I thought the eighth inning was the deciding game, so I brought in Go Woo-seok at a faster tempo. He overcame a tough situation and got five outs, which was crucial to our victory. I would like to praise Go Woo-seok for his hard work.”
When he met with the media after the game, he first thanked the KT Wiz Park officials. The game was suspended due to a sudden downpour in the top of the fourth inning before LG attacked. After reorganizing, 104 minutes passed before the game resumed.
Go Woo-seok said, “Today’s game had a long rain interruption, and the officials here worked so hard. I was worried about the condition of the ground, but I think I was more grateful that the ground wasn’t as slippery as I thought it would be.”
There were also two defensive plays that helped Go Woo-seok in the game. In the bottom of the eighth inning, shortstop Oh Ji-hwan played a calm and clean defense to get two outs, and in the bottom of the ninth inning, right fielder Hong Chang-ki flew out to catch a hit by his assigned teammate. Go said, “I got a lot of help from my defense. It was a difficult game, and I think that made it a little easier for me.”
Go threw 22 pitches in the game. He mixed four-seam fastballs (14 pitches), sliders (5 pitches), and curves (3 pitches). Before the game, manager Yoon Kyung-yeop said, “He needs to reduce the percentage of changeups.메이저놀이터
“I understand what the manager is saying,” he said. But I’m stubborn, so before I pitched, I thought about throwing just a slider to show the manager.” “When I got to the mound, I couldn’t think of anything. So I just thought about throwing a fastball,” he said.
“Ironically, all of my outs today (except for Hwang Jae-gyun) were on sliders. ”I think the manager feels that my slider is relatively weak because he hasn’t seen it much because I’ve been out a lot with injuries,” he said.
This season, Go has been plagued by shoulder and back injuries. His record this season is 3-6, 13 saves in 39 games, 38 innings pitched, 14 runs (14 earned), and a 3.32 ERA.
“I think I’m at my best right now, and I think that’s why I was more upset about the last game (against the Hanwha Eagles in Jamsil on the 2nd),” he said, “I think I’m at my best, and in a way, I think every game is an important game. That’s why I had a lot of meetings with my brothers before today’s game, and I think I went out with more determination and strength.”