SSG closer Seo Jin-yong and NC Lee Yong-chan pitch in the first semi-PO game held on the 22nd. IS Photo
SSG Landers, the third-ranked team in the regular season, and the fourth-ranked NC Dinos, who faced off in the semi-playoff (PO, three wins out of five), have common weaknesses. It's the back door.
SSG closer Seo Jin-yong made 42 saves in the regular season and topped the league in this category, winning the title for the first time since his debut. NC Lee Yong-chan is a veteran closure with 157 saves in his career.
Both pitchers struggled at the end of the regular season. Seo Jin-yong had an ERA of 9.00 in October alone, including losing points in the last three consecutive games. He wasn't originally a clean blocker of innings, but it was clear that he suffered from poor physical strength. The same goes for Lee Yong-chan. He lost four of his last five regular-season games. Two of them were three runs.
Anxiety was also revealed in the first round of the semi-PO held on the 22nd. SSG coach Kim Won-hyung put Seo Jin-yong in the first base with one out in the top of the ninth inning when he was losing 1-3. Seo Jin-yong allowed runner Jason Martin to steal a base and gave Seo Ho-cheol a hit to the right field.
Lee Yong-chan was more shaken. In the bottom of the ninth inning with a 4-1 and three-point lead, he hit a right-handed hit by the leadoff batter Han Yu-seom and allowed follow-up Ha Jae-hoon to even a two-run homer over the left fence.
Lee Yong-chan managed to secure the lead by striking out veteran hitter Kim Kang-min, who was a pinch hitter after dealing with Choi Ji-hoon and Kim Sung-hyun's infield fly ball in the ensuing situation. 스포츠토토
After the game, "Loss" coach Kim Won-hyung said about the background of Seo Jin-yong's input, "If the score gap widens further, it will be difficult to catch up in the remaining first inning (at the end of the ninth inning), so he put it in to prevent a run." As a result, (Seo Jin-yong) got a hit," he said.
Coach Kang In-kwon, "Seungjang," tried to mention Lee Yong-chan, saying, "Starting pitchers Shin Min-hyuk, Kim Young-kyu, Ryu Jin-wook, and Lee Yong-chan also played their roles well." As for future use, "I lost a point after hitting a home run, but as a result, I kept the lead." I'm going to trust and go."
The team that will go up in the next series is also expected to continue to worry about "back doors." Rather than the two pitchers' abilities being a problem, it is a time when they lack strength physically. In the end, the timing and choice of pitchers on the bench became important.
