Professional baseball SSG Landers' Kim Kwang-hyun added a victory after 49 days.
On the 11th, Kim Kwang-hyun took the mound as the starting pitcher in the second game of a doubleheader against the KIA Tigers at Incheon SSG Landers Field, becoming the winning pitcher with 7 innings, 7 strikeouts, 1 hit, 1 walk, and 1 earned run. SSG won 5-1.
Kim Kwang-hyun recorded his second victory of the season after winning against Doosan in the opening series on March 23, with 5⅔ innings, 7 hits allowed, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts, and 2 earned runs. During that time, he had 5 consecutive losses, but he broke the losing streak. His season record is 2 wins and 5 losses in 9 games, with an earned run average of 4.07.
After the first inning, with one out, Kim Sun-bin and Kim Do-young struck out, and in the second inning, Choi Hyung-woo, Byeon Woo-hyuk, and Lee Woo-sung followed, showcasing a powerful pitching performance with 5 consecutive strikeouts.
Although the defense was shaken by errors, he showed the experience of a veteran on the mound. He allowed the leadoff hitter Jeong Hae-won to reach base due to an error by the third baseman in the third inning, but managed to prevent any runs with a strikeout and two ground balls.
In the fifth inning, the leadoff batter Lee Woo-sung reached base due to an error by the third baseman. Jeong Hae-won was walked, creating a first and second base crisis with no outs. At that moment, the pitching coach visited the mound to help calm the situation. Afterwards, Kim Kwang-hyun handled the situation without allowing any runs with a ground ball to the third baseman, a strikeout, and a ground ball to the shortstop.
After the game, Kim Kwang-hyun said, "As injuries occurred, young players are getting opportunities and gaining experience, and I think they can certainly make errors or mistakes. However, if those mistakes lead to runs and we lose the game, it can create a big wound or trauma, so I thought I must definitely prevent that."
He continued, "I called the pitching coach to come up and help me calm down a bit. I'm not the type to hide my disappointment during a game, so if I'm disappointed, I express it. I was very eager to make sure I had to prevent any runs afterwards, so I needed some time to calm down my mind by calling the pitching coach, and I'm glad the results turned out well."
The only run allowed on the day was a home run hit by Kim Do-young in the fourth inning. Kim Do-young hit a solo home run over the left-center wall off Kim Kwang-hyun's first pitch curve at 112 km/h. The distance was 125 meters. It was Kim Do-young's first home run in 10 games since the game against LG in Gwangju on April 26. It was his second home run of the season and his 50th career home run.
Kim Kwang-hyun smiled slightly on the mound after giving up the home run. After the game, he remarked, "I didn't think he would hit it. I thought it was the first pitch curve, so I didn’t expect him to hit it. I was sure that the catcher Beom-soo also thought he wouldn’t hit it, so I think he called for the curve sign. It was more of a strike than a bad pitch for the first pitch count. Kim Do-young hit it well; he has been showing a strong performance against me, so I think he is a good hitter."
He added, "It must not have been easy to aim for a curve on the first pitch, and he probably wasn’t targeting the curve; hitting a home run off a slow ball, around 110km, is proof of being a good hitter."
Kim Do-young, as the curve came in, momentarily paused in his backswing before swinging, timing his hit perfectly. The curve dropped slightly in the strike zone, allowing him to hit a hard-hit ball. It was a swing that showcased his batting talent.
Kim Do-young was strong against Kim Kwang-hyun. Before this game, he had faced Kim Kwang-hyun 22 times, with 19 at-bats, 9 hits (batting average .474), 2 home runs, 3 walks, and 4 RBIs. In this game, he went 1 for 3 with 1 hit, 1 home run, and 1 RBI, bringing his totals to 22 at-bats and 10 hits (batting average .455), with 3 home runs and 5 RBIs.
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