Finally, a sign of revival has emerged. The 'Captain' of the Korea Professional Baseball Samsung Lions, Koo Ja-wook, broke a streak of four consecutive hitless games.
Koo Ja-wook started as the sixth left fielder in the home game against the SSG Landers held at Daegu Samsung Lions Park on the 8th. Prior to that game, Koo had been struggling with a regular season batting average of .173 (9 hits in 52 at-bats), 2 home runs, 11 RBIs, and 10 runs scored. Since the game against the KIA in Gwangju on the 3rd, he had been silent for four consecutive games without a hit.
Manager Park Jin-man noted before the game, "Every batter has a hitting cycle. Having almost hit rock bottom, there's only room to rise now. Isn't he a player with that kind of ability? Once he finds his rhythm, he can explode like a bomb."
On that day, Samsung's starting lineup consisted of shortstop Lee Jae-hyun, center fielder Kim Sung-yoon, third baseman Kim Young-woong, catcher Kang Min-ho, first baseman Lewin Diaz, left fielder Koo Ja-wook, designated hitter Park Byung-ho, second baseman Ryu Ji-hyuk, and right fielder Kim Heon-gon. The starting pitcher was Choi Won-tae.
Koo Ja-wook struck out in the 1st inning and popped out to left field in the 3rd inning, but in the 6th inning, after one out, he stepped on first base with an infield hit. As Koo's hit emerged, applause erupted from the stands. After Koo settled on second base from Park Byung-ho's ground ball to third, he advanced home on Ryu Ji-hyuk's hit to right.
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