Lotte Giants closer Kim Won-joong took the mound as relief pitcher in an away game against KT Wiz in the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League held at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on Sunday local time. He maintained his team’s victory by taking responsibility for four outs. During the first ⅓, he had one hit, one walk, two strikeouts and no run, and posted 21 pitches. Lotte won the game 9-7, securing two consecutive wins and the Winning Series. He jumped from ninth to eighth.
Kim took the mound with runners on the first and second bases with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning when his team was leading 9-6. Kim Sang-soo hit a timely RBI single to the left, allowing the team to pursue the game 9-7. Kim gave up a walk, and the team was loaded with two outs. Kim put the team’s ball to right field to put out the fire.먹튀검증
The game ended neatly in the bottom of the ninth inning when the score was still 9-7. He grounded out leadoff hitter Park Min-seok. During the process, he was hit in the foot by the ball, but after a brief physical check, he continued his pitching calmly. With Shim Woo-joon on the catcher’s strikeout, he secured the catcher’s tagout, and struck out Mel Rojas Jr. with a swing and miss, completing his save. He tied for fourth in the league in this category for the 19th save of this season.
Kim has shown difficulties in performance lately. Prior to this game, Kim had struggled with nine ⅓ innings in 10 games, with one win, two losses and two saves with an ERA of 8.68. Notably, he caused himself to be on the verge of loading the bases in three consecutive games. On July 31, Kim Won-joong played in the ninth inning of the game against the SSG Landers, when his team had a 10-5 lead, and faced a crisis with the bases loaded with one out. He allowed four hits (one homer) and five runs on one walk in the first ⅔ of the game, allowing the team to tie the game 10-10.
He appeared in the ninth inning with a 6-5 lead against the NC Dinos on the 6th. He loaded the bases with one out again this time. He overcame the crisis by allowing no runs in one inning to earn a save. He also took the mound in the ninth inning when he edged out the game 2-0 against KT on the 10th. He was loaded with one out, but he breathed a sigh of relief once again by allowing no run in one inning. He got the save.
“[Kim] Won-joong is narrowly overcoming the crisis, and I think he will get better,” Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyung said ahead of the match against KT on Wednesday. “Looking at the finishing touches of each team, it seems that it is not easy to completely block most teams,” he said. “As things continue to go awry, experienced Won-joong also seems to have had a mental impact. I think he was impatient thinking, ‘Oh, I have to stop this,’ when the team let the runner go.” He tried to give the team the most strength.
Kim eventually responded to the coach’s belief in the upcoming match as well. “I want to praise Kim Won-joong, who took the mound in a difficult situation after two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, for his victory,” Kim said after the match.
After finishing the game with the aforementioned face, Kim was asked if his foot was okay after being hit by the ball. Kim nodded as if nothing had happened.
Kim Won-joong said, “I am grateful that the team was able to win by blocking the game well. I was always preparing well,” adding, “It was very helpful for the coach and coach to wait and say good words even in difficult situations.”
“I regret that I lost a point during the eighth inning when I was on the mound. I am so sorry to (former) Seung-min.” Koo’s manager Rojas scored on Kim Won-joong’s timely hit to Kim Sang-soo. Koo’s earned run went up. Koo finished the game by allowing one run in ⅓ innings.
Kim Won-joong said, “If you are a finishing pitcher, of course, you have to block him well no matter what situation you go into. I will always do my best to prevent any situation with responsibility.”
Finally, he stressed, “It was difficult once again, but I would like to thank the coach and coach for waiting and letting me take the mound according to the situation.”