Sohn Ju-young, a left-hander of the LG Twins in the professional baseball league, was actually full of confidence even before the game. He was about to make his fall baseball debut, but he never looked nervous.
“My arm is in pretty good condition,” Son said ahead of the KT Wiz match in the third round of the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League semi-playoff (semi-PO) held at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province on the 8th. “If there is no problem, I would like to finish the game with (Choi) Won-tae and I.” He said that other pitchers should take a rest for the next game.
Son’s pitching was close to perfect. Son took the mound in unfamiliar environments such as the first post-season game, switching to a bullpen, and a game with a 100 percent chance, but he did not feel awkward at all.
Son Joo-young took the mound in relief after two outs in the third inning when the two teams were 2 to 2. Starting pitcher Choi Won-tae was in charge of preventing the succession runners from scoring points.
The team had a better start. It allowed Kim Sang-soo, the first batter, to make a timely RBI. However, Hwang Jae-gyun, the runner who was running from first base to third base, was out, catching the lucky first out count.
Afterwards, Son performed truly well. When he allowed three hits in the fourth and fifth innings, he ended the game with a complete withdrawal, and allowed one hit in the sixth inning, but managed to catch three out counts in an instant. He also retired after three consecutive KT batters in the seventh and eighth innings, before leaving the mound.
Son pitched 64 pitches during five ⅓ innings, and enjoyed the joy of becoming a winning pitcher with two hits and seven strikeouts. He is the 42nd Korean pitcher ever to become the winning pitcher at his debut game in fall baseball. He is the fifth among LG teams. Thanks to Son’s performance, the team won the game 6-3, making the team’s all-time PO record 2 to 1.
After the game, Son Joo-young emphasized, “I felt I had to win no matter what.” “It was my first postseason game, but it was a great experience to be in the Korean Series entry last year. I can now concentrate.”
The game could have ended as desired. Thanks to Son’s good pitching through the eighth inning, LG was on the verge of securing victory by using only two pitchers.
However, in the ninth inning, LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop let go of Son Joo-young and put in Yoo Young-chan. What was the reason.
“(Son) Joo-young showed the best performance. He played his role well as a long man,” Yeom said. “It was perfect pitching.” On the reason why he replaced Son, he said, “I thought about taking the mound in the ninth inning, but I saw the RPM per minute drop in the eighth inning, so I ordered him to be replaced.”
“I got an autograph from the bench, so I replaced it,” Son said. “I didn’t feel the RPM dropped. Sensibly, it was good.” “I think today’s game was strong on my fastball. I threw with more power than usual,” Son said. “I think my average speed was probably faster.”
Another factor that drew keen attention was when the “Bulpen Son Joo-young” card will be used before the game. This year, Son played a key role in LG’s starting rotation and posted a good record of 9 wins, 10 losses and one hold with an ERA of 3.79 in 28 games.
Ahead of the fall baseball season, Yeom has changed his position to a bullpen pitcher. Among the five starting pitchers including Detrick Ns, Elijah Hernandez, Lim Chan-kyu, Choi Won-tae and Son Joo-young, he declared that he will use Hernandez and Son Joo-young as bullpen pitchers in the semi-PO.
So far, the two starting pitchers have been deployed perfectly. Hernandez had one hold, two hits and five strikeouts during three ⅔ innings in the first and second games. Son also presented his team with a precious victory.
If LG advances to the PO, however, Son will take on the role of starting pitcher again. “If Son moves to the PO, he will play as a starting pitcher,” Yeom said, vowing that the three-starter system is only possible in the semi-PO.
This is good news for Son, too. She expressed her desire to start both before and after the game. 스포츠토토
Before the match, Son said, “Watching Lim Chan-kyu’s pitch in the second round, I thought, ‘I want to go to the PO and throw like that.’ When asked if he needs to play a good role in the bullpen to start in the PO, he replied, “That’s why I’m going to throw well no matter what. I’ll thoroughly prepare and bring a game where I have to win no matter what.”
After being reborn as a winning pitcher, he gave a short answer of “Yes” to the question of “Do you want to start?”
