Pro baseball player Son Joo-young of the LG Twins achieved his 3rd win, rising to sole possession of first place in most wins.
Son Joo-young started as the pitcher in the game against Kiwoom on the 8th at Seoul's Gocheok Sky Dome, recording his 3rd win of the season with 7 innings pitched, allowing 5 hits, striking out 5 batters, not issuing any walks, and conceding 1 run. His earned run average dropped from 2.77 to 2.25.
LG won decisively with a score of 13-1. As Son Joo-young maintained a significant lead early in the game, he overwhelmed Kiwoom batters with aggressive pitching, mixing fastballs (33), curves (21), sliders (20), and forks (2), with his fastest pitch reaching 148 km/h.
In the bottom of the 1st inning, he allowed leading hitter Puig to reach base due to a third base error, but he erased Lee Joo-hyung with a double play on a ground ball to second base. He ended the inning by getting Choi Joo-hwan to ground out to first. In the 2nd, he struck out leading batter Jang Jae-young on three pitches and ended the inning in order. In the 3rd, he again retired Kang Jin-seong and Kim Keon-hee (referring to the player, not the spouse of the former president, as a strikeout) in order.
In the 6th, he allowed a single to left to leading hitter Puig but handled Lee Joo-hyung with a double play on a ground ball to second base, and in the 7th, after one out, he allowed a single to Song Seong-mun but ended the inning with a double play ground ball from Yeo Dong-wook.
The LG lineup provided strong support, scoring 3 runs in the 1st and 6 runs in the 2nd inning. With 3 wins in 3 games, he secured sole possession of first place in most wins. After the game, Son Joo-young noted, "First of all, the bats were really hot, which made me feel more comfortable going in aggressively, saving on the pitch count, and the defense was great. With great defense and hitting, I felt like as long as I pitched aggressively, we could get through the innings. I’m really grateful to the hitters."
In response to the question, "Did you almost secure the victory for free in a game like today?" he smiled and said, "Yes. But even if we score a lot, if I don’t pitch well, we can’t secure the win. So it's really great that I've received so much (run) support."
With a 9-run lead since the 2nd inning, he said, "I thought I needed to focus more and pitched. I can't just relax and not overextend. I pitched with the mindset to maintain this momentum, making the defense quick and the offense more proactive."
He finished after 76 pitches through the 7th. Son Joo-young explained, "I never had the thought of wanting to pitch more. I have to pitch again on Sunday. I originally planned to pitch until the 6th, but since I had thrown so few pitches, I decided to go one more inning, so I pitched 7 innings."
Manager Yeom Gyeong-yeob praised after the game, "Son Joo-young delivered a quality start without issuing any walks, showcasing perfect pitching as a starter."
Son Joo-young stated, "Today, Dong-won hyung said my curveball improved a lot. He was surprised that I'm not originally a curveball pitcher, so why did it happen like this? He also mentioned that the cutter-like slider he requested since the camp was thrown a bit higher today, and it worked well. I've had 3 games this season but it's a gradual process of improvement. If I can also use a forkball, I think I can have a lot of fun playing baseball."
He also expressed gratitude for the advice of pitching coach Kim Kwang-sam before the game. Son Joo-young explained, "Coach Kim Kwang-sam checked when I was pitching in the bullpen, saying that my right shoulder was opening early. Before I started in the 1st inning, I asked how I should correct it, and he mentioned that the (shoulder) opened, causing the rotation to go sideways. I thought about that while pitching, and it seemed that the vertical movement of my fastball was a bit improved. The fastball had good vertical movement, and the curveball dropped well, which helped me pitch comfortably."
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