"Hyoung-jun was very unfortunate."

Lee Kang-cheol, the manager of the KT Wiz, explained the reason for the surprise introduction of closer Park Young-hyun during a full count with one out and runners on first and third in the eighth inning, which drew attention. Naturally, it was about the will to not shift the momentum of the game as they were leading by one run and wanting to protect the victory of starting pitcher So Hyung-jun, who had performed well.

Manager Lee made a bold pitching change in the eighth inning against the Samsung Lions on the 13th, when they were trailing 5-6 with one out and runners on first and third. As Kim Min-soo engaged in a full-count battle against Ryu Ji-hyuk, he immediately used closer Park Young-hyun.

It's rare to make a substitution while competing against a batter. If a hit or an infield ground ball or an outfield fly were to tie the game, it would be a moment when the momentum shifts. Park Young-hyun threw a strong fastball at 149 km/h, recording a swinging strikeout and rewarding the manager's trust. He maintained a scoreless inning through the ninth and secured the victory.

Manager Lee noted before the game against the KIA Tigers in Gwangju on the 15th, "Hyoung-jun was very unfortunate. He had a no-hit outing for 7 innings in the last game but didn’t get the win. Since Min-soo started with two balls, I thought I had to take the gamble. If we give up a run, the atmosphere shifts. Even if it shifts, I had to try."

Starting pitcher So Hyung-jun has a solid performance this year with a 1.50 earned run average. On this day, he allowed 5 hits and 4 walks over 5 innings but remained steady, recording only 1 earned run (unearned). He pitched well in the previous game against SSG on the 6th with a no-hit outing for 7 innings but didn’t get the win. In the game against Doosan on March 26, he allowed 3 earned runs over 6 innings but took the loss. He had a strong desire to protect his first win as a head coach.

He continued, "Young-hyun said he never thought about it at all. Young-hyun has good stuff. He struck out as he intended and we won. I thought the pitch was too high, but it resulted in a swinging strikeout. The ball seemed visible to the batter. If it hadn’t worked out, I would have received criticism. The outcome was good. There was also a case where I brought in Yoon Seok-min in a one-run game against KIA," he said with a smile.

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