On the 20th at Busan Sajik Stadium, LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop sighed as he began an interview with reporters before the game, saying, "I feel like I’m going to die if I have to use a pitcher at the end. My head is going to burst... I can't stop 5 runs."
LG suffered a shocking comeback loss due to bullpen struggles against KT over the weekend. Even in victories, despite the score differences being comfortable, the performance of the bullpen was shaky. This is mainly because only Kim Jin-sung and Park Myung-geun remain as the essential relief pitchers. The LG bullpen has been missing Jang Hyun-sik (latissimus dorsi) since the 13th and Kim Gang-ryul (shoulder) since the 14th due to injuries. Recently, Bae Jae-jun (shoulder), who was trying to move up to the essential relief pitchers, also went out on the 18th. Injuries are piling up.
On the 17th, LG was ahead 6-1 until the fifth inning in the second game of the doubleheader against KT but suffered a 6-7 comeback loss. All available cards from the bullpen, including Kim Jin-sung, Baek Seung-hyun, Park Myung-geun, Lee Woo-chan, Kim Young-woo, and Kim Yoo-young, were used, but they failed to hold on.
In the game against KT on the 18th, starting pitcher Chirinus delivered an excellent performance, allowing only 1 run over 6 innings. The bullpen was activated from the 7th, leading 5-1. Relay pitcher Lee Woo-chan was used first, but after creating a crisis with one out and runners on first and second, essential pitcher Park Myung-geun came in and managed to end the threat without allowing any runs. In the 8th inning, Seong Dong-hyun, who was called up to the first team the previous day, came on as a relief pitcher. After two outs, a hit and a walk led to runners on first and second, prompting veteran Kim Jin-sung to come in as the firefighter. He ended the inning with a groundball out and wrapped up the game in the 9th with a three-up, three-down.
Manager Yeom noted that he resorted to a difficult strategy, bringing in a relay pitcher first in a situation with a bit of a score cushion, hoping to manage the game without needing to call upon essential pitchers. He stated that if Kim Jin-sung and Park Myung-geun were responsible for 2-3 innings each, problems such as fatigue from consecutive appearances could arise, so he must conserve them as much as possible. Yeom explained, "It's not about directly putting in Kim Jin-sung and Park Myung-geun; I need to use other players first, and if a crisis arises, then Kim Jin-sung and Park Myung-geun have to step up. That's the strategy we’re formulating." He hopes that Baek Seung-hyun, who performed as an essential relief pitcher during the 2023 championship, and rookie Kim Young-woo step up.
On the 20th against Lotte at Sajik Stadium, Manager Yeom was troubled by bullpen management despite being ahead by a whopping 14-2 by the 5th inning.
In the bottom of the 6th, leading 14-2, starting pitcher Song Seung-ki was followed by Seong Dong-hyun as the second pitcher. Na Seung-yeop hit a single to left, Yun Dong-hee followed with another single to left, and Yoo Gang-nam walked, starting a bases-loaded crisis with no outs. Son Ho-young allowed 1 run with a weak ground ball single to third base.
LG changed pitchers to left-handed Kim Yoo-young against Lotte's left-handed hitters 1-3. Jang Du-seong hit a timely single to center (1 RBI), and a passed ball during Go Seung-min's at-bat allowed a runner to score from third. Go Seung-min then hit a two-RBI double, clearing the bases. With no outs and a runner on second, Reyes hit a double down the right field line, quickly narrowing the score to 14-9.
Two pitchers failed to record even a single out and allowed 6 runs with 7 consecutive hitters reaching base. Ultimately, LG called upon essential pitcher Park Myung-geun with a 5-run lead. He allowed a hit to Jeon Joon-woo and walked Jeon Min-jae, resulting in a bases-loaded crisis with no outs.
The LG bullpen was in chaos. With still 4 innings remaining, the question arose of when to deploy their last line of defense, Kim Jin-sung. Fortunately, Park Myung-geun successfully escaped the crisis by catching Na Seung-yeop's pop-up foul to the catcher and striking out Yun Dong-hee and Yoo Gang-nam consecutively.
In the 7th inning, Kim Young-woo came to the mound. He struck out the first batter, but after consecutive hits, the situation turned into one out with runners on first and second. Kim Jin-sung was warming up in the bullpen. Kim Young-woo got Reyes to ground out to second base and handled Jeon Joon-woo with a fly ball to right field with two outs to escape another crisis.
There were still two innings remaining in the 8th and 9th. The LG lineup scored 3 runs in the top of the 8th, extending the lead to 17-9, allowing them to breathe a sigh of relief. Baek Seung-hyun came in during the 8th, giving up only a single walk and managing to hold off any further runs. Manager Yeom conserved Kim Jin-sung until the end and had Baek Seung-hyun finish the game in the 9th. Even though Kim Jin-sung did not pitch, he warmed up in the bullpen. The bullpen usage has been heavy since Tuesday's game, the start of the week.
Meanwhile, Yoo Young-chan is preparing for a return by the end of May. He will pitch in games at the second team this week. The team needs to hold on until Yoo Young-chan returns.
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