Kim Jin-sung recorded his 40th career save on May 18 in a game against the KT Wiz at Jamsil Stadium.
Kim Jin-sung came on as a relief pitcher, pitching 1⅓ innings of perfect baseball to secure the save.
With LG leading 5-1 in the top of the 8th inning, Seong Dong-hyeon took the mound, recorded 2 outs, and allowed Ahn Hyun-min to hit a blooped single to left-center, then walked Jang Seong-woo. With 2 outs and runners on first and second, Kim Jin-sung was brought in.
When a ball hit by Rohas deflected off the first baseman, the second baseman caught it and quickly threw to cover the BASS, where Kim Jin-sung was positioned to catch it and make the out.
In the 9th inning, he struck out Kang Baek-ho, forced Kim Sang-soo into a flyout to center field, and retired Cheon Seong-ho on a flyout to left field, ending the game. With perfect pitching, he recorded his first save of the season and his 40th career save.
LG won 5-1 with starting pitcher Chirinus delivering 6 innings of 1 run quality start pitching, combined with a two-run homer from Park Dong-won and another two-run homer from Moon Bo-kyung. They rebounded from the shock of being swept in a doubleheader the day before and became the first team this season to reach 30 wins (16 losses).
Before the game, Kim Jin-sung’s two sons, Kim Min-chan and Kim Ri-ho, participated in the first pitch and batting. The LG organization held a first pitch event featuring players' families in celebration of Family Month in May.
After the game, Kim Jin-sung said, “It was quite a burden. I had to pitch well in front of my family and show a proud appearance, but since the results were not good yesterday, I focused more and it seems I got a good result.”
He added, “Since (Park) Dong-won knows me well, he leads effectively, so I think I pitched well according to his lead.” He also expressed gratitude to catcher Park Dong-won.
Ahead of the first pitch, he said he didn’t specifically prepare anything for his sons. Kim Jin-sung noted, “They practiced throwing at home, but I didn’t teach them. I thought it would be better for kids to throw like kids, so I didn’t instruct them. I just told them to throw as they wanted,” he said with a laugh.
In the previous day's doubleheader on May 17, Kim Jin-sung struggled, pitching ⅔ of an inning with 1 hit, 2 walks, and 3 earned runs. Although he managed to escape a bases-loaded situation with a ground ball in the 5th inning, he was substituted after allowing a triple, a walk, and another walk that resulted in another bases-loaded situation with one out in the 6th inning. Following him, the relief pitcher allowed wild pitches, walks, hits, and sacrifice flies leading to three earned runs.
Kim Jin-sung said, “If I had done better yesterday, (Park) Myung-geun wouldn’t have had to come in at that time, and pitchers wouldn’t have had to be put in that frequently. I felt very sorry to the fielders for not finishing the inning as a veteran. The fielders played in both the 1st and 2nd games, and I feel quite apologetic for my poor pitching as a veteran.”
Kim Jin-sung is the oldest player on the team and has pitched the most innings in the LG bullpen. He has a record of 1 win, 1 loss, 13 holds, and 1 save over 25 games, with an earned run average of 3.00. He is the backbone of the LG bullpen. With Jang Hyun-sik and Kim Kang-ryul sidelined due to injuries, the responsibility weighs even heavier.
Kim Jin-sung stated, “It’s not that it’s not burdensome, but there are several other younger pitchers. I believe they will do their part, so it doesn’t feel that burdensome. There are many good juniors, so if I am lacking, I can make up for it, and when I am struggling, the juniors help me, so I don’t really have such thoughts as 'What should I do?'”
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