“Before going up to the bottom of the ninth inning, coach Yang Sang-moon threw well in the bottom of the eighth inning, so let’s do it until the end.”
Hanwha Eagles right-hander Park Sang-won (30) is giving a big boost to his team’s challenge to fall baseball at the end of the regular season. Park took the mound as the second pitcher in the bottom of the eighth inning with a 2-1 lead over the Doosan Bears in Jamsil on Saturday. Ryu Hyun-jin, the ace pitcher, pitched seven innings of one-run ball. Doosan, which tries to avoid losing the sweep, was in a tight race, leading to a one-run battle, in which Park neatly stopped the two innings with 20 pitches, keeping his team’s victory. He allowed no hits or four outs, and led his team to a 3-1 victory and a sweep against Doosan for the first time in 19 years.
Park Sang-won faced off against Doosan`s top batters, leading the game 2-1 in the bottom of the eighth inning with Jung Soo-bin, Kim Jae-ho, and Jared Young. He grounded out Jeong Su-bin, a tricky leadoff hitter, to shortstop, and struck out Kim Jae-ho, as well as two batters with seven balls. In the game with Jared, he led the swing and miss with a fork ball at the count of 2 to 2, and garnered strikeout, not out and struck out before roaring loudly.
As there were not many pitches, Park Sang-won stood on the mound in the bottom of the ninth inning with a 3-1 distance. Closer Joo Hyun-sang took the mound in a close game against Doosan on the 23rd and 24th, so it was too much to pitch three consecutive games. Hanwha’s bench pushed Park Sang-won, who was more powerful, and Park Sang-won caught Yang Seok-hwan, the fourth batter who came out as the leadoff hitter, with a foul fly to the third baseman with a single ball. He then turned Kim Jae-hwan, who had Doosan’s only RBI by stealing a home run from Ryu Hyun-jin, into a fly ball to center field, and Kang Seung-ho also grounded out to the third baseman with one ball to end the game.
Park Sang-won said, “Before going up to the bottom of the ninth inning, Yang Sang-moon, coach, threw well in the bottom of the eighth inning, so let’s do it until the end. Lee Jae-won also came and told me to try it. Thanks to the advice of the coach and seniors, I was able to throw well without much thought, and I was able to pitch well on the mound according to Choi Jae-hoon’s ball mix.”
Park Sang-won ended the season as the closing pitcher after competing with Joo during the spring camp. However, he had only two losses, one hold, one save, 15 innings and an earned run average of 9.00 in 17 games through May, which made it difficult for him to continue serving as the closing pitcher. He changed his position from early April under the bench’s judgment that even if Joo’s arrest does not result from Park Sang-won, he feels much more secure.
Park, who has been preparing again and waiting for the chance, has achieved remarkable results in August. He has one win, one save, four holds, 12 ⅔ innings and an ERA of 0.00 in 11 games. Since the match against the Samsung Lions on June 23, he has been scoreless in 15 consecutive games. 먹튀검증
During the period when Park Sang-won allowed no runs, Hanwha also continued its strides. Hanwha had 18 wins and seven losses and a winning percentage of 0.720 in the 25 games it played since April 23, ranking No. 1 in the league during the period. Hanwha, which once fell to the bottom, has moved up step by step to rank seventh with 56 wins, 60 losses and two draws in the current season. As there is no difference between the fifth-ranked KT Wiz and the sixth-ranked SSG Landers, it is possible to advance to the fifth round if it continues its recent three-game winning streak.
Regarding his team’s important save on the way to the semifinals, Park Sang-won said, “I thought I would never take the mound again for a save opportunity after changing my position in the closing game. It was an out-count six saves that I couldn’t even do when I was a closer, but I tried to take advantage of my experience at the time. I feel good because I blocked it well.”
He expressed his gratitude to manager Kim Kyung-moon and pitching coach Yang Sang-moon for trusting and giving him a chance. Park Sang-won said, “Coach Yang Sang-moon and the coach always say things that give us confidence. Such words and faith are the driving force behind good pitching now,” expressing his willingness to continue to contribute to the fight for the round of five.
