Kim Tae-hyoung did not give up. Yoon Sung-bin also did not give up and is bravely throwing the ball again.
On the 28th, Yoon Sung-bin of Lotte took the mound as the second pitcher in the 4th inning during the Futures League game against the NC Dinos at Changwon NC Park, pitching three innings with one hit, one walk, five strikeouts, and no earned runs. He threw 47 pitches, 32 of which were strikes and 15 were balls.
On the 20th, Yoon Sung-bin faced his first team return game at Sajik. After being drafted first overall in 2017 and facing some struggles, there was a strong reason for him to start in this game. He recorded two wins and an earned run average of 2.11 (21⅓ innings, five earned runs) after pitching in six games in the second team. While he still issued 19 walks, he struck out an impressive 40 batters. His fastball averaged in the 150 km mid-range, demonstrating power and consistency.
He had been expected to rise to the first team mound in Sajik. He threw a powerful fastball at 157 km/h on his first pitch, causing excitement in Sajik. He struck out the first batter, Park Hae-min, in three pitches, drawing cheers. He landed nine consecutive strikes, creating further anticipation. However, Yoon Sung-bin struggled to find stability afterward. Variables such as pitch communication issues disrupted his tempo. Against the top team in the first league, Yoon seemed to find it difficult to cope with each batter. He was pulled from the game in the second inning with no outs and a full base, and the following pitcher, Park Jin, allowed a grand slam to Song Chan-ui. Yoon Sung-bin's final record was one inning, four hits, six walks, one hit batter, two strikeouts, and nine earned runs.
Afterward, Yoon Sung-bin went back to the second team. However, Kim Tae-hyoung did not give up on him. He recognized the sweat Yoon had shed through his efforts and thought about how to help him. He expressed his regret. On the 21st, the next day, Kim noted, “I spoke to the pitching coach. I told him to give Yoon a chance when there are runners on base in the second team. The second team and the first team are different. He seemed very nervous yesterday. We have to try this way and that way.” He intends to prepare Yoon Sung-bin so he can rise back to the first team by experiencing various situations. He continued, “Wasn’t the tempo disrupted due to pitch communication? He needs to enter quickly, but… However, he has to overcome everything. I felt bad. He also wants to prepare well and pitch well, but it did not go as planned. It’s disappointing.
After returning to the second team, on the 24th, he made a relief appearance against KIA in the Futures League, pitching three innings with two hits, two walks, four strikeouts, and two earned runs. The result was not good. However, on that day, Yoon Sung-bin showed stable pitching, raising expectations for a second chance.
Trailing 0-3, he took the mound as the second pitcher in the 4th inning following the starter, Shim Jae-min. He got the leadoff batter, Ko Seung-wan, to pop out to center field and struck out Kim Se-hoon looking on an outside breaking ball. He also struck out Kim Bum-jun looking with a fastball down the middle.
In the 5th inning, he retired leadoff batter Oh Young-soo with a fly ball to left field. He then struck out Song Seung-hwan with a slider. Against Jo Chang-yeon, he threw a low 150 km fastball but gave up a single to left field. Now he had to pitch with runners on base. Once again, Yoon Sung-bin became unsettled as runners reached base. He allowed a walk to Han Jae-hwan, putting him in a two-out, one-and-two base crisis. A wild pitch during Kim Jung-ho's at-bat further escalated the situation to two outs and second and third base. However, he struck out Kim Jung-ho swinging on a 150 km fastball, overcoming the crisis himself.
In the 6th inning, he recorded a ground ball out from leadoff batter Jeong Hyun-chang, struck out Ko Seung-wan swinging, and made the final out against Kim Se-hoon with a fly ball to right field. His overall velocity was in the mid-140 km range. Compared to his best performance, it had fallen significantly. He occasionally reached 150 km. However, he maintained his distinctive tailing movement and pitch quality, striking out the NC Futures team batters.
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