LG ended the nightmare of a three-game losing streak on the road last weekend and rebounded perfectly with two straight wins. And now, the manager’s “key” player is on the mound. LG’s left-hander Kim Yun-sik (23).
The LG Twins will play their 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League home game against the Hanwha Eagles at 2 p.m. on April 2 at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul.
LG is coming off a 10-0 sweep of Hanwha the previous day (Jan. 1) in the first game of a three-game weekend series. With a record of 67 wins, 41 losses and two draws (0.620 winning percentage) this season, LG remained atop the standings with a 5.5-game lead over second-place KT (63 wins, 48 losses and two draws, 0.568 winning percentage), which was stunned by Kiwoom on the same day. Hanwha, on the other hand, fell into an eight-game losing streak with a record of 42 wins, 61 losses and six draws. LG leads the head-to-head record against Hanwha this season with six wins, four losses and one draw.
LG suffered a three-game sweep at the hands of the NC Dinos in Changwon last weekend. Their lead over second-place KT has also narrowed to 4.5 games. LG and KT will play a three-game midweek series at KT Wiz Park in Suwon next week. The pressure could be on LG, but they’ve turned things around with two straight wins.
Now, they have a starting pitcher on the mound to continue that momentum. Kim Yun-sik. For Game 2, LG will start Yoon-Sik Kim and Hanwha will start Sanchez. Hanwha’s Sanchez has started 17 games this season, going 6-5 with a 3.63 ERA. Kim Yun-sik, on the other hand, has started 11 games this season, going 3-4 with a 5.29 ERA.
Kim Yun-sik has a lot on his shoulders, but fans are excited to see what he can do. It’s because of the unexpected injury to foreign ace Adam Plutko. Plutko left the mound of his own accord after four innings of one-run ball against the NC Dinos on March 26. He traveled to Seoul and was examined at a hospital, where he was diagnosed with a left pelvic contusion. He is expected to be out for four to five weeks.
Kim Yun-sik has been waiting for a call-up to the first team while quietly spreading the ball around in the Futures League. With the acquisition of Choi Won-tae in a trade, LG now has a solid five-man starting lineup of Casey Kelly-Plutko-Im Chan-kyu-Choi Won-tae-Jung-yong. LG manager Yoon Kyung-yup Yeom said of Kim, “We’ll wait and see if we need him,” and that time came quickly. “I think (Kim) Yun-sik is the ‘key,'” Yim said. We have to hold on to him. I’ve been preparing a lot,” and put his trust in him.
In four Futures League appearances, Kim went 1-1 with a 5.52 ERA. In 14⅔ innings, he allowed 17 hits (one home run), two walks, 10 strikeouts, nine runs (nine earned) and a .288 batting average. Most recently, he pitched three innings of one-hit ball against the Sangmu on April 23, allowing no runs on four hits with three strikeouts.스포츠토토
Turn back the clock to last September. Kim was “untouchable” in September, going 3-0 with a 0.31 ERA in five games. In total, he pitched 29 innings in the month of September, allowing just two runs (one earned) on 19 hits, nine walks, and 28 strikeouts. He followed that up with a strong performance in Game 3 of the playoffs against the Kiwoom Heroes, throwing 5⅔ innings of three-hit ball, striking out four and walking one.
Now, almost a year later, it’s September again, and we’re wondering if Kim Yun-sik will be able to repeat his September performance. The expectations of LG fans are rising.