On the 8th, at Daegu Samsung Lions Park, the 8th match of the season was held between the Samsung Lions and NC Dinos. Samsung started Ariel Hurado, while NC sent Shin Young-woo as their starting pitcher. Based on the starting matchup alone, Samsung was expected to have an advantage. However, once the game started, a tight pitching duel unfolded.
The winner of the starting matchup was Samsung's Hurado. He showcased a perfect game with 9 innings of scoreless baseball (2 hits allowed, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts), marking his first complete game shutout in the KBO League since the opening of Daegu Samsung Lions Park in 2016. Hurado is the first Samsung pitcher to achieve a 1-0 complete game shutout. After using 7 pitchers, including starter Danny Reyes, and suffering a 7-11 loss in the previous game, Hurado held the mound alone, significantly contributing to the bench management.
Although he unfortunately became the losing pitcher, NC's Shin Young-woo also shone in his performance. Prior to the game, Shin Young-woo had a season average earned run average of 16.20 over 2 games, but he pitched well with 5 innings, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts, and 1 earned run.
Out of a total of 79 pitches, 43 were strikes. His maximum velocity reached 152 km/h, and he mixed sliders and curves. Shin Young-woo set personal records for the most innings in a game (previously 3⅔ innings), strikeouts (previously 6), and total pitches (previously 78) since his professional debut in 2023.
Before the game, manager Lee Ho-jun emphasized aggressive pitching, saying, "There may be hits or home runs. I understand that. However, I cannot accept issuing too many walks. There's no reason to put him on the mound." True to his wishes, Shin demonstrated his abilities on the mound.
Shin Young-woo, who showed the best pitching of his professional debut, said, "I regret the 1 run given up early in the game due to walks. The timing of my fastball wasn't good, so I changed my plan to mix fastballs with breaking balls to create favorable counts, which I think led to good results."
He continued, "Thanks to the great defense from my seniors every inning, I was able to receive significant support, and I had many discussions with catcher Kim Jeong-ho before the game. Reducing complicated thoughts on the mound and throwing simply according to the shared plan helped me focus greatly."
Shin Young-woo also expressed his hope, saying, "In the future, when the timing of my fastball isn't good, I want to effectively use breaking balls to manage the game well and extend my innings. I want to fulfill my role by contributing to the team with my pitching in the next game as well."
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