Professional baseball LG Twins pitcher Choi Chae-hoon
Choi Chae-hoon made his start on the 7th against Doosan Bears at Seoul's Jamsil Stadium. He recorded 4 innings pitched, allowing 3 hits, 1 walk, and 1 earned run, and was replaced in the 5th while leading 2-1.
In the 1st inning, he faced leadoff hitter Jeong Su-bin, throwing two consecutive 106 km/hour curves that resulted in a groundout to the shortstop. Cave struck out swinging on a 136 km/hour fastball. The ball dropped off like a breaking pitch as it went outside. He threw a slider against Yang Eui-ji and ended the inning by inducing a groundout to the third baseman on the 7th pitch with a changeup.
In the 2nd inning, leadoff hitter Kim Jae-hwan made a groundout to the shortstop. He allowed a single to Yang Seok-hwan, which went over the shortstop's head. He induced Oh Myung-jin into a groundout to the first baseman, who got the lead runner out at second base. With 2 outs and a runner on first, Kang Seung-ho made a flyout to center field, maintaining the scoreless outing.
In the 3rd inning, leading 2-0, he got Kim Gi-yeon out on a fly ball to first base and Park Jun-young out on a fly ball to left field. The batting order turned over, and he faced Jeong Su-bin again, turning him around with a swinging strikeout. In the 4th inning, he struck out Cave and Kim Jae-hwan, ending the inning with a clean slate.
In the 5th inning, he issued a walk to leadoff hitter Yang Seok-hwan. The pitching coach visited the mound once before he left. Oh Myung-jin hit the first pitch, and it deflected off the first baseman's glove and bounced behind the second baseman for an infield hit. A crisis with no outs and runners on first and second ensued.
He threw a 140 km/hour fastball to Kang Seung-ho but conceded a 1-RBI double that went over the center fielder's head. The score went to 2-1, and with no outs and runners on second and third, he was replaced. Kim Jin-sung came in as the relief pitcher.
Manager Yeom Kyung-yeop noted that he would employ a full bullpen effort from the previous day. Before the game, when asked if Choi Chae-hoon would be replaced after giving up even one run, Yeom replied, "Even if he doesn't give up a run, he could still be replaced. There is no standard for replacement. He must perform well, no matter what."
This was Choi Chae-hoon's first appearance in the first team of the season after moving from Samsung to LG as a compensation player for the free agent Choi Won-tae last December. He recorded a 1 win and 1 loss with a 9.64 earned run average over 3 games in the Futures League. On the 25th of last month, he pitched well against the Samsung second team, going 5 innings with 3 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts, and 1 earned run.
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