The professional baseball LG Twins will completely change their starting pitcher rotation for the second half of the season. Foreign pitcher Chi Rinos will take a break for over two weeks to recharge. The intervals between left-handed pitchers Son Ju-yeong and Song Seung-gi will be widened.
LG will have a four-game series against the Lotte Giants at Jamsil Stadium starting on the 17th. The first opponent in the second half comes with the pressure of 'El Rollo-like.' LG currently holds a record of 48 wins, 38 losses, and 2 ties (winning percentage .558), placing them second. Lotte has 47 wins, 39 losses, and 3 ties (winning percentage .547), putting them third, just one game behind.
LG's starting rotation for the last game of the first half was Chi Rinos, Hernandez, Im Chan-kyu, Son Ju-yeong, and Song Seung-gi in that order. Manager Youm Kyoung-youb mentioned on the 15th at Jamsil Stadium that for the second half, 'we will go with Son Ju-yeong, Hernandez, Im Chan-kyu, Song Seung-gi, and Chi Rinos in that order.'
Foreign pitcher Chi Rinos will start against KIA on the 22nd. Among the five starters, he will pitch last. Chi Rinos underwent injection treatment for elbow reinforcement. He is currently on the rehabilitation list for treatment.
Signing foreign pitcher Chi Rinos for $1 million, he pitched 106 innings in 18 games during the first half, the most innings among LG's starting pitchers. Im Chan-kyu pitched 103 innings in 17 games with a record of 8 wins and 3 losses.
Hernandez (4 wins, 3 losses) struggled with a thigh injury, spending 6 weeks in rehabilitation, limited to 51 innings. Son Ju-yeong (7 wins, 6 losses) pitched 86⅔ innings over 17 games (including 1 game in relief), while Song Seung-gi (8 wins, 5 losses) pitched 93 innings in 17 games. It seemed Song Seung-gi showed signs of fatigue at the end of the first half as he pitched for the first time this year as a starter.
Manager Youm decided not to pitch left-handed pitchers Son Ju-yeong and Song Seung-gi consecutively. He explained, 'Whether Seung-gi pitches first or Ju-yeong pitches first, left-handed pitchers seem to influence each other. I thought it might be better for Seung-gi to pitch after Ju-yeong, but he also gets hit more. It seems we should separate left-handed pitchers.'
Son Ju-yeong and Song Seung-gi pitched consecutively three times at the end of the first half. Song Seung-gi pitched in the game following Son Ju-yeong, but unfortunately, the results were poor. In those three games, he had 1 loss and an earned run average of 8.76 (12⅓ innings, 12 earned runs).
Song Seung-gi said, 'It seemed like the opposing batters were hitting more easily than usual. I thought about how Ju-yeong was struggling early on. Our pitching styles are similar.'
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