With recruitment of Eric Lauer, expectations are rising that the starting pitchers of the KIA Tigers will find a sense of stability. At first glance, the rotation of starting pitchers including Lauer, James Nail, and Yang Hyeon-jong seems solid. Considering the remaining regular season schedules and upcoming fall baseball games, however, the prevailing view is that the remaining two positions of starting pitchers will serve as a yardstick to gauge Kia’s future moves.메이저사이트
Kia has been filling two vacant starting positions with Kim Do-hyun and Hwang Dong-ha due to injury of Lee Eui-ri and Yoon Young-chul. Both pitchers started as bullpen pitchers this season, but based on their ability to digest multiple innings, they had an opportunity to become substitute starters and successfully secured their positions.
However, the burden on the bullpen increased exponentially in the process. Both Kim Do-hyun and Hwang Dong-ha can play multiple innings, but they were far from performing enough to reliably take charge of five innings. Not only right after switching from bullpen to starting, but also until recently, bullpen pitchers continued to fill in one after another, resulting in a considerable accumulation of fatigue in the bullpen. Even if Lauer settles down in the starting lineup, it is true that it is still difficult to feel safe considering the adjustment period and ups and downs that will occur during the process.
Lee Bum-ho, Kia’s manager, also pointed out this point. “The three (Lauer Nail Yang Hyeon-jong) are capable of throwing well by themselves. The task is to take good care of Kim Do-hyun and Hwang Dong-ha’s physical condition and mental state so that he can throw well for the rest of the season,” he said. “We will focus on how Kim Do-hyun and Hwang will use the bullpen when throwing.” In the end, we have no choice but to hope that Kim Do-hyun and Hwang Dong-ha will show a sense of stability based on his experience as a starting pitcher.
Kim Do-hyun, the first runner on the 6th, succeeded in relieving Lee’s concerns a little.
Kim was on the verge of losing a large number of runs with one out in the third inning. However, he managed to overcome the crisis by dealing with two hitters. He was on the verge of loading the bases with two outs due to consecutive hits and walks in the top of the fourth inning, but managed to get out of the crisis again by catching Rojas with a fly ball. He was also shaken by walks and hits after two outs in the top of the fifth inning, but struck out Kim Min-hyuk, completing a five-inning scoreless pitch.
All teams have played more than 100 games, but Kia is still anxious amid the all-time high ranking battle. Kim Do-hyun’s five scoreless innings was a delightful throw that could ease Lee’s concern.