Professional baseball LG Twins manager Youm Kyoung-youb criticized first baseman Austin Dean for the first-base cover miss against Doosan Bears the previous day, not pitcher Son Ju-yeong.
On the 21st, the seventh matchup of the season between the LG Twins and Doosan Bears was held at Seoul's Jamsil Stadium.
LG's left-handed pitcher Son Ju-yeong took the mound in the top of the sixth inning with a tied score of 4-4, where he faced leadoff batter Kim Jae-hwan and Lee Yoo-chan, allowing hits and putting himself in a 1-out, 1st and 3rd base crisis. During Oh Myung-jin's at-bat, he threw a pickoff attempt and trapped Lee Yoo-chan, the runner on first base trying to steal second base, between first and second base, but a mistake occurred, failing to get Lee Yoo-chan out.
LG received the pickoff throw from first baseman Austin Dean, who was trying to tag out Lee Yoo-chan at second base, and threw it to shortstop Gu Bon-hyeok. At that time, pitcher Son Ju-yeong did not cover first base and ran toward home plate. The first base was momentarily vacant, and Gu Bon-hyeok failed to make the throw, allowing Lee Yoo-chan to return to first base safely.
The commentary team pointed out Son Ju-yeong's base cover mistake. However, the manager's perspective was different. Before the match against Doosan on the 22nd, manager Youm Kyoung-youb said, "Austin needed to resolve the situation. When the runner is far away, Austin must wait at first base after throwing the ball. He should not go with the runner. In other words, he should not hand over first base to the pitcher in that situation. When the pitcher catches the ball and throws home, the accuracy greatly decreases. The infielder needs to handle it first."
LG had already simulated a similar situation during spring training and conducted defensive drills. Manager Youm Kyoung-youb noted, "During camp, we practiced resolving rundown situations at first and third base. Austin forgot that." Moreover, he added, "Furthermore, since Son Ju-yeong is a left-handed pitcher, his position is unstable, and the accuracy decreases even more. Austin should have waited."
Meanwhile, LG faced Doosan's starting left-hander Choi Seung-yong, deployed the same lineup as the previous day with Shin Min-jae (second baseman), Kim Hyun-soo (left fielder), Austin Dean (first baseman), Moon Bo-gyeong (third baseman), Moon Sung-ju (right fielder), Park Dong-won (designated hitter), Gu Bon-hyeok (shortstop), Lee Ju-heon (catcher), and Park Hae-min (center fielder). The starting pitcher was Song Seung-gi.
Song Seung-gi's season record stands at 13 games with 7 wins, 4 losses, and an earned run average of 2.65, having suffered a loss in his last outing against the Daejeon Hanwha Eagles on the 15th, in which he gave up 5 runs (4 earned) over 4⅓ innings.
This year, Song Seung-gi faced Doosan in 2 games, recording 1 loss with an earned run average of 4.50. He did not get a win despite pitching 6 innings and allowing 2 runs on April 11 and was marked as the losing pitcher after allowing 4 runs in 6 innings on May 5.
Song Seung-gi is in fierce competition for the Rookie of the Year title alongside KT Wiz's Ahn Hyun-min.
LG, now on a 2-game losing streak, stands at 41 wins, 2 draws, and 30 losses, in 2nd place, while Doosan, on a 2-game winning streak, is in 9th place with 29 wins, 3 draws, and 41 losses. The head-to-head record between the two teams has LG winning 3 and losing 4.
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