‘1800K’ Kim Kwang-hyun, the man allowed to say ace
SSG hasn’t been particularly strong in the NCs lately. It was a weakness that the coaching staff and players were clearly aware of. After winning the final game of the regular season for both teams last year and then losing three straight games in the playoffs, the team has lost nine straight NC games through six games this year.
SSG head coach Lee Sung-yong lamented that the team gave it their all on Game 21 to end the losing streak against NC ahead of Game 22, but it didn’t go their way. “There were times when we suffered a devastating defeat against NC that left us speechless, but there were also many games where we felt like we were playing with shackles on our ankles. The team lost the 21st match 2-3 in a tightly contested match and now trails 6th-ranked NC by half a game.
One loss would lead to a 10-game losing streak, which was becoming unacceptable even for the club’s pride. Under such circumstances, the game on the 22nd was a day when the entire squad came out with a strong spirit. Starting ace Kim Kwang-hyun (36) was no stranger to this mood, and he led the way through the NC horror. The bats were focused, but it was Kim’s steady pitching on the mound that set the stage for the team’s victory.
Kim started the game against NC at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on April 22 and threw 94 pitches over six innings, allowing four hits (two home runs), five walks, and three runs while striking out five to lead the team to a 12-4 victory and his sixth win of the season. While his overall velocity was lower than usual on this day, he was able to keep NC’s bats in check with his changeup and get through the sixth inning. After all, if the ace of a team is the one who wins big games, then Kim is still the one who deserves to be called that.
In fact, there were times when he looked like he was going to run out of gas. In the first inning, he gave up a leadoff solo home run to Park Min-woo. It didn’t look like a hard hit ball, but it went over the right field wall. Kim Kwang-hyun looked at the pitch in bewilderment. However, it didn’t shake Kim’s mentality, as he had already hit many such home runs in Incheon. He settled down, and the team’s bats responded with four runs in the second inning to take the pressure off his shoulders.
There was a crisis in the third inning, when the team’s second inning offense went too long and the score was 4-1. Three pitches that were either out of the zone or slightly out of the zone were hit by bats, putting the bases loaded. But Kim got out of the jam by throwing a changeup to Park Gun-woo and getting him to fly out to third base. It was the most 안전놀이터 important play of the game. Despite giving up a two-run homer to Park in the fourth inning, the fifth and sixth innings were relatively clean. In the meantime, the team’s bats collected four pitches from the opposing mound, giving them the momentum to escape the NC series.
Kim threw just 19 pitches on the day, none of them four-seamers. In addition to his slider (34 pitches), he actively threw his changeup (27 pitches) against NC’s right-handed hitters, and his deceptive curveball (14 pitches) induced many false swings. After the game, SSG coach Lee Sung-yong said, “It must have been difficult for Kwang-hyun to adjust to the delayed start of the game, but he contributed to the team’s victory with a six-inning quality start. He did his job well,” he said.
After the game, Kwang-hyun said, “I’m happy that we were able to end the team’s losing streak and our losing streak against NC. I thought the NC hitters were timing 카지노사이트 순위 their fastballs well, and I think the fact that I increased the ratio of fastballs to changeups was the driving force behind our victory.”
Kim struck out Kim Hui-jip in the first inning to become the third player in KBO history to strike out 1,800 batters in a game or minimum inning. “I’m proud that I was able to reach the KBO record of 1800 strikeouts in my career, but I think strikeouts come with the territory when you throw a lot of innings, so I’ll pitch as many innings as I can to contribute to the team,” Kim said, adding, “I’m grateful to the fans who filled the ballpark even in bad weather with rain in the forecast. The cheers that filled the stadium today were the driving force behind our victory,” he said.
