Samsung’s veteran left-handed pitcher Baek Jeong-hyun, 37, had a strong outing for LG, leading the team to victory.
Baek started the game against Samsung at Jamsil Stadium on Jan. 1 and went 6.2 innings, giving up seven hits, two walks and two strikeouts in his longest outing of the season. He paved the way for his team’s 7-0 victory. This allowed Samsung to cut the gap to second-place LG to two games.
In the meantime, Baek Jung-hyun has been strong for LG. After NC (16 wins), LG is the team with the most wins. His career record for LG is 10-12-2 with a 4.82 ERA in 57 games.
In his most recent start, on July 26 against KT, Baek was in better form, as he threw six innings of three-run (two earned) quality starts but failed to pick up a win.
It was a shaky start. After giving up a leadoff single to Hong Chang-ki and a 10-pitch battle with Shin Min-jae, Baek walked Austin Dean to load the bases. The coaching staff visited the mound, and Baek made a direct catch on Moon’s throw to the plate to get the final out. Baek, who was able to protect the mound with his body, got Kim Hyun-soo to ground into a double play at second base, shortstop, and first base to end the first inning.
After a tough first inning, things started to settle down in the second. After striking out the first batter of the game, Oh Ji-hwan, Baek struck out Park Dong-won and then walked Park Hae-min. However, the next batter, Kim Bum-seok, was caught by catcher Kang Min-ho to relieve the pressure on Baek.
After striking out Kim Bum-seok, Hong Chang-gi, and Shin Min-jae in the third inning, Baek Jung-hyun gave up a double to Kim Hyun-soo two batters later in the fourth. After inducing the next batter, Oh Ji-hwan, to ground into an infield single, Baek was able to get Kim Hyun-soo thrown out at home to end the inning.
In the fifth inning, Baek Jung-hyun walked Park Hae-min one batter later, but this time, catcher Kang Min-ho threw him out stealing to end the inning. Park had a good laugh after his second failed steal. With his five innings of work, Baek Jung-hyun reached 1,100 career innings. It is the 71st most in KBO history.
The sixth inning was another big inning. Hong Chang-ki led off with a single to right, but the next batter, Shin Min-jae, induced a grounder to second 토토사이트 추천 base to clear the bases. Austin then drove in the winning run with a grounder to third, second, shortstop to first.
In the meantime, the bats provided two runs of support. In the first inning, back-to-back singles by Kim Ji-chan and Yoon Jung-bin set up a 1-3 count, and Kang Min-ho singled up the middle. In the second inning, Kim Hun-gon singled to right field to score another run. More runs came in the seventh inning. After a walk, Kim Heon-gon singled and Lee Sung-kyu scored on a wild pitch. The LG pitcher was replaced by Kim Yoo-young, and Samsung turned to pinch-hitter Park Byung-ho. Park Byung-ho singled to left to load the bases, and Kim Hyun-joon followed with an RBI double to left to bring in both runners.
With a 4-0 lead, Baek Jung-hyun took the mound in the seventh inning and was replaced after giving up a single to Oh Ji-hwan with two outs. Lim Chang-min came in to close out the inning and preserved Baek’s no-hitter. It was his second consecutive quality start after the last game. He showed that he can hit the ball up to 143 kilometers.
After the game, Baek Jung-hyun said, “My catcher Kang Min-ho did a great job leading off, and I also got a lot of help from the defense, including stealing bases. Overall, I think it was a lucky game,” said Baek. “I threw a lot of fastballs today because my fastball has power,” he added.
“I didn’t finish the inning, but I didn’t feel bad about it because I felt like I had to follow the instructions from the bench. I’m just happy the team won.”
On his first inning catch, he said, “The ball came in and it was a close call, so my reflex was to catch it. Luckily, it was on the right side, so there was no problem,” he said. The area where the ball hit him was treated with first aid. Baek Jung-hyun said, “I’m fine,” and vowed to do his best to win the next game.