Korea Professional Baseball's KIA Tigers will challenge for their sixth consecutive victory on the 22nd against the SSG Landers at Incheon SSG Landers Field.
KIA recorded a 5-5 tie against SSG in the previous day's game after 11 innings. KIA was ahead 5-2, but in the 8th inning, setup man Jo Sang-woo gave up 1 run, and in the 9th, Jeong Hae-young allowed 4 consecutive hits after 1 out, resulting in a 5-5 tie. They let a victory slip away and faced a potential walk-off defeat.
With 1 out and runners on 1st and 2nd, Seong Yeong-tak came in as a relief pitcher and got pinch hitter Jeong Jun-jae to hit a line drive to the second baseman. Park Seong-han's hit to right field was saved by right fielder Choi Won-joon's throw to home, preventing a walk-off defeat. In the bottom of the 11th inning with no outs and a runner on 2nd, Lee Ho-min came in and handled Han Yu-seom's double play with 1 out and runners on 1st and 2nd to end the game in a tie.
KIA manager Lee Beom-ho said before the game on the 22nd, 'It's unavoidable that the best pitcher gave up runs. Yesterday, Hae-young's pitch was well located at the end of the strike zone. It also went very well into the zone, but the opponent made good contact for a hit. I think it’s just part of the game that our team's best closer came in and faced that situation.'
A closer cannot always perform well. The manager noted, 'The pitchers that came after did well enough to finish the game as a tie instead of a loss. The players' concentration was very good. The players have played a very tiring game, and I think a period of physical concern has come.'
After Jeong Hae-young in the 9th, Seong Yeong-tak was brought in as a relief pitcher to avoid the walk-off crisis. The manager explained, 'The pitching coach said that because the closer had blown a save, he wouldn't be able to pitch well under that psychological state. So, it seemed better to make a change.' He added, 'Seong Yeong-tak was already warming up to pitch in the 6th inning. When Yeong-tak said he was ready, I replaced him with Yeong-tak.'
He continued, 'I thought it would be good for Yeong-tak to experience that situation once, and considering Hae-young was psychologically shaken, it was right to take him out.'
With 2 outs and runners on 1st and 2nd, Park Seong-han's hit was perfectly thrown home by right fielder Choi Won-joon, tagging out the runner at home. The details were there.
The manager praised, 'In a full count, the center fielder cannot make a play at home, so I positioned the center fielder deeper, and the right fielder and left fielder were positioned down until the ball could roll to the play. The outfield defense coach did a good job checking those details. The fact that the game was contested at home even with a full count (with the runner on 2nd starting automatically) is a remarkable defensive play by ONEJOON.'
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