“The phone rang in the bullpen in the bottom of the ninth inning. It’s my turn. I got a hunch.”
LG’s foreign pitcher Elijah Hernandez won Game 3 of the semi-playoff (semi-PO) on Tuesday local time. When KT’s Bae Jeong-dae allowed a two-run homerun to lead the team to a 5-6 lead and a one-run gap in the bottom of the ninth inning, LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop put Hernandez on the mound without delay. Even Yeom, who said he would endure it until 99 percent before the game, couldn’t resist it anymore. It was fortunate that he did not target it as 100 percent.
Regardless of the manager’s pregame wishes, Hernandez did his best. He warmed up in the bullpen as usual and moved to play whenever he could. Since joining LG in the middle of this season, he has continued to throw as a starter, but the bullpen was not awkward. When he was a middle pitcher in the Major League, he did not panic. When the bullpen phone rang right after Yoo Young-chan, the closing pitcher of LG, allowed a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning. Son Joo-young threw so well that he thought he could block it until the ninth inning, but Hernandez said, “I thought I have to prepare anyway. Don’t you think you have to finish the game when you get the chance?” Hernandez, who took the mound with one out in the ninth inning, neatly caught two out counts with four balls to end the game. 토토사이트
Hernandez said, “I really wanted to win today’s game. I think my desperate efforts to prepare for the game resulted in a good result.” Hernandez has pitched in all three semi-PO games. In total, he threw 69 pitches in 4.1 innings. “I was ready, so I have no problem mentally,” Hernandez said. “After a lot of throws, it’s true that I’m tired, but I still felt good on the mound.” When asked about finishing the game by myself for the first time in three consecutive semi-PO games, he said, “I’m so excited and happy that I can’t describe it.”
LG will play its fourth game of the series at the same venue in Suwon on Sunday. The team could potentially confirm its advance to the playoffs. The team asked if it would be possible to play in the fourth game by any chance. “I have to listen to my training coach. As a player, I have to take care of my body, so I will make a wise decision,” Hernandez said. “If I win the fourth game, I will be able to take two more days off (until the playoffs) and save my arm that much, so I will throw it if I get the chance.”
