Korea's professional baseball KIA Tigers pitcher Kim Hyun-soo (25) has been removed from the first-team roster. Manager Lee Beom-ho praised Kim Hyun-soo, who is being sent down to the second team, and promised an immediate call-up to the first team after ten days.

KIA adjusted the first-team roster on the 27th before the game against the LG Twins at Jamsil Stadium. They sent Kim Hyun-soo and infielder Hwang Dae-in to the second team and registered pitchers Kim Min-joo and Jang Jae-hyuk to the first team. Unlike Hwang Dae-in, who struggled with a batting average of .189 for a month, Kim Hyun-soo was a case of going down after "pitching well."

Kim Hyun-soo pitched in the 10th inning of extra time against the Kiwoom Heroes on the 26th. That day, KIA used eight pitchers starting with substitute starter Kim Geon-guk. The bullpen trio Jeon Sang-hyun, Cho Sang-woo, and Jeong Hae-young pitched the 7th to 9th innings. Kim Hyun-soo was the last remaining pitcher in the bullpen.

In the bottom of the 10th inning, with the score tied 4-4, Kim Hyun-soo walked the lead-off batter Lim Ji-yeol, and with one out and runners on second and third, intentionally walked Choi Joo-hwan. Under the threat of losing the game, he induced Park Joo-hong into a ground ball to second base, resulting in two outs with runners on first and third. He allowed a stolen base to Ahn Jun-seo at the plate and, with three balls, intentionally walked the next batter to load the bases. He struck out Kim Dong-heon, escaping the crisis.

KIA took the lead 5-4 on a sacrifice fly by Park Chan-ho with one out and the bases loaded in the top of the 11th. In the bottom of the 11th, Kim Hyun-soo allowed a tie with a triple to Song Sung-mun with one out and a runner on first. With one out and a runner on third, he retired Lim Ji-yeol with a strikeout to escape the loss. The KIA bench utilized automatic intentional walks for Lee Joo-hyung and Choi Joo-hwan, creating a bases-loaded situation with two outs. Kim Hyun-soo got Park Joo-hong out on a pop-up to the shortstop, ending the game in a tie.

Manager Lee Beom-ho explained, "Kim Hyun-soo had no choice but to go down. I promised him that he would be called up in ten days under the condition set with the pitching coach because he pitched so well. Yesterday we used nine pitchers, and since we have no pitchers now, we had to send Hyun-soo down."

Kim Hyun-soo threw 38 pitches on the 26th. He threw 19 pitches in one inning against Kiwoom on the 24th. He needed to rest for two to three days, so they called up a bullpen pitcher who can be used immediately and sent Kim Hyun-soo to the second team.

Kim Hyun-soo allowed a tying run in the bottom of the 11th, but he prevented a loss in the end-of-game situations in the 10th and 11th innings. Manager Lee Beom-ho said, "Song Sung-mun is a good player, so I think it's a matter of leaving it to fate when someone like Hyun-soo does his best and gives up a hit. He pitched well before that and pitched well against other hitters as well. It's natural to experience hits given up to good hitters."

He continued, "However, he did a good job even in that difficult situation. With the bases loaded (against Park Joo-hong), he was at 2 balls but threw a strike and then threw another strike to catch the fly ball, which I believe was a game that contributed significantly to Hyun-soo's growth."

Kim Hyun-soo, who was selected by the Lotte Giants in the 3rd round of the 2019 rookie draft at 28th overall, transferred to KIA as a compensation player for free agent Ahn Chi-hong after the 2019 season. He was called up to the first team on May 9 this season and has appeared in 9 games (9.1 innings) with a win-loss record and an earned run average of 2.89.

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