“Of course. If the team wins….”
In his first game against Doosan Bears, Elijah Hernandez, who left Casey Kelly in tears, had two hits (one homer) with seven strikeouts and one run in five innings due to strong pitching speed and good breaking ball control, seemed likely to chew through the KBO League. However, he has also shown signs of nervousness. He started to get hit once the batting order turned around, and he had more long balls.
Manager Yeom Kyung-yeop of the LG Twins decided to send two starting pitchers to the bullpen in the semi-playoff game in order to strengthen the team’s unstable bullpen, but Hernandez was a key figure. He needs more pitching when he has good pitching capability and defense. Hernandez displayed phenomenal pitching by taking the mound in all five semi-PO games. He held a hold in the second game, when he had his first win, and posted saves in the third and fifth games. Notably, he was supposed to rest in the third game, but he prepared because his arms were in good condition, and when closing pitcher Yoo Young-chan was chased by a gap of 6-5 and one run after a two-run shot in the bottom of the ninth inning, he took the mound with four outs and secured two saves with four balls. In the fourth game, he took the mound in the bottom of the eighth inning when the score was tied at 5-5 and allowed two innings until the bottom of the ninth inning, before volunteering to take the mound in the bottom of the 10th inning if he scores a point in the top of the 10th inning. Yeom also said he was touched by Hernandez’s support for his team. In the fifth game, he pitched in the top of the ninth inning with a 4-1 lead, ending the series with no run.
Coach Yeom as well as Lim Chan-kyu, who won the semi-PO MVP, applauded Hernandez for his fighting spirit, calling him “the MVP in my heart.”
It is never easy for Hernandez to take the mound in all five games. As Hernandez was a starter, it is not natural for him to suddenly come out of the bullpen and throw every day, which makes it difficult even if he does not seem to throw many pitches.
Hernandez also said he didn’t expect this. “Actually, I didn’t know that I would take the mound like this. Still, I’m very satisfied that I did what I could, and I feel the best because my team won.” “And in this situation, I have to sacrifice a certain part to help my team, and I want to help my teammates, so I’m satisfied that I sacrificed myself and led to a good result,” he said. 메이저사이트
He was planning to take the middle, but Hernandez was finished because he was not in his right condition due to the aftermath of Yoo Young-chan’s father’s injury. Hernandez said, “I thought I had to play with great responsibility,” and added, “There are good things to finish and bad things, but this is also an opportunity for me. I think it’s an opportunity to finish the game if I do well, but the bad thing is that I mentally think, “I shouldn’t make a mistake,” so it’s hard. Still, I’m satisfied because I went out and did my job.”
When the game was over, he collected saves, drew a circle with his teammates on his shoulder, and held a victory ceremony with his feet crossed. “It’s a bit awkward to say, but I think they share the joy and admiration that they finished the game,” Hernandez said, explaining the joy of the ceremony.
In the playoff against the Samsung Lions, he confirmed his position by completely finishing the game. As the game is to end, he does not take the mound when winning or losing the game by a wide margin. “I decided that it would be better to throw the game as the closing pitcher because Hernandez was fatigued,” Yeom said.
When asked if Hernandez, who threw 117 pitches in seven ⅓ innings in five games for a week, will take the mound if he is in a save situation in the first round of PO against Samsung on Saturday after a day off, he said, “Of course. The team should win.” When asked if Hernandez would be able to play in all five games in the playoffs, Hernandez made a strange face and said, “Of course.” Lim Chan-kyu, the semi-PO MVP, said, “Please protect Hernandez’s shoulder,” trying to protect Hernandez.
