Professional baseball LG Twins pitcher Lee Ji-kang listened to the manager's reprimand and delivered a scoreless performance in his first game after being sent down to the second team.
Lee Ji-kang started the game against the Hanwha Eagles in the Futures League at Icheon LG Champions Park on the 2nd.
Lee Ji-kang was sent down to the second team on the 27th of last month. Lee Ji-kang started against KIA in Gwangju on the 26th but lost after pitching 3 innings, giving up 8 hits (2 home runs), 2 walks, 1 strikeout, and 6 earned runs. He received an opportunity to start temporarily due to the absence of foreign pitcher Hernandez, who is on the rehabilitation list due to a thigh injury, but he showed disappointing pitching.
Manager Yim Kyung-yeob noted, "I have given him opportunities for three years, and it's very disappointing. He keeps repeating getting hit after going to full count and throwing down the middle for three years." He remarked, "If he doesn't seize the opportunity, it won’t come again."
After a 5-day break, he started in the second team. His control was shaky in the first inning. He walked leadoff batter Lee Sang-hyuk on the 5th pitch and allowed Ha Joo-seok to walk on a straight ball. With no outs and runners on 1st and 2nd, he handled Eurogyeol's pop-up to shortstop, and the runner on second was tagged out on a wild pitch. He ended the inning by striking out Park Sang-eon.
In the second inning, he recorded a strikeout and an out via a fly ball to the outfield before allowing Lee Min-jae to walk on a straight ball. He ended the inning by getting Kim Geon out on a fly ball to center field. The third inning concluded without any hits, with two fly balls and a strikeout.
LG scored a run in the bottom of the third inning, and although they allowed a hit to leadoff batter Eurogyeol in the fourth, the runner was eliminated trying to steal second base. The inning ended with two fly balls.
In the sixth inning, he allowed consecutive hits to Bae Seung-soo and Lee Sang-hyuk, and on Ha Joo-seok's ground ball to the second baseman, the runner was out at second, setting up first and third with one out. He walked Eurogyeol, creating a bases loaded situation with one out.
He handed the ball to relief pitcher Woo Kang-hoon. Woo Kang-hoon recorded a strikeout and a ground ball out without allowing any additional runs. He pitched 5⅓ innings, allowing 3 hits, 4 walks, and 4 strikeouts while recording a scoreless game. Thanks to the strong performance of the relief pitcher, no runs were scored, although giving up 4 walks was disappointing.
Lee Ji-kang was drafted by LG in the second round as the 85th overall pick in the 2019 rookie draft. He made his first-team debut in 2022, appearing in 4 games (11 innings) with an earned run average of 4.91.
Since manager Yim Kyung-yeob took over as LG's head coach, Lee's opportunities to pitch gradually increased. He has been pitching as a swingman, alternating between the bullpen and temporary starter roles. Last year, he appeared in 46 games (53⅔ innings), recording 2 wins, 3 losses, 1 hold, 1 save and an earned run average of 4.53. He has been working in difficult situations without a reliable game-ending pitch and is struggling to advance to the next level due to his pitching tendencies.
This season, he has recorded 1 win, 1 loss, 1 hold, and 1 save in 8 games in the first team, with an earned run average of 4.52.
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