Professional baseball player Kim Won-jung of the Lotte Giants is on the verge of achieving his 150th career save.
Kim Won-jung took the mound as the team's last pitcher in the game against the SSG Landers in Munhak on the 14th, closing out the inning and recording his 17th save of the season. This brings his career total to 149 saves, leaving him just one save away from achieving the 11th all-time 150 saves.
Moreover, since joining the Lotte Giants in 2015 and exclusively playing for them, Kim Won-jung holds the record for the most saves in the franchise's history and is on the verge of reaching another milestone of 150 saves.
Kim Won-jung, who has been the closer for Lotte since 2020, recorded his first save on May 22, 2020, in a game against the Kiwoom Heroes at Sajik.
He then achieved his 50th career save on September 12, 2021, against Kiwoom, recording a personal best of 35 saves that season. Later, on August 16, 2023, he reached 100 career saves, the first in the team's history.
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) plans to award a commemorative trophy to Kim Won-jung upon reaching 150 saves as per its recognition guidelines.
Meanwhile, Lotte will clash with the Hanwha Eagles, who are currently leading the standings, at Sajik Stadium on the 17th. Lotte has announced Tucker Davidson as their starting pitcher, while Hanwha will start Ryan Weiss.
Davidson has made 14 appearances this season, achieving a record of 6 wins and 2 losses with an earned run average of 3.55. He recorded 5 innings pitched against Hanwha on May 2, allowing 8 hits (including 2 home runs), 2 walks, 6 strikeouts, and yielding 6 runs (4 earned).
In contrast, Weiss has taken the mound 14 times, boasting a record of 8 wins and 2 losses with an earned run average of 3.09. He has won both of his matchups against Lotte this season, maintaining an earned run average of 2.57.
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