LG Twins right-hander Lee Jung-yong, 27, earned his first win in four years as a member of the first team.
Lee started against the KIA Tigers in Gwangju on Sept. 9 and pitched five innings of two-hit, one-walk, six-strikeout ball in a 6-2 victory. He didn’t allow a run in 11 innings against the Kiwoom Heroes in Jamsil on Feb. 2 (six scoreless innings), his first win in six games since making the switch. With a 4-1 record (3 saves, 1 hold), he lowered his season ERA from 5.31 to 4.70. The league-leading LG posted a 58-2 record, taking a step toward reaching the 60-win plateau following a 50-win season.
It was Lee’s final start of the season. LG has been shuffling its starting rotation since the trade acquisition of Choi Won-tae. This week, the team will go with six starters, but will return to a five-man rotation next week. Adam Plutko, Casey Kelly, Chan-kyu Lim, and Won-Tae Choi are set for the first four spots. The remaining spot will be rotated among several players. LG manager Yoon Kyung-yup said, “Of the existing starters, Lee Jung-yong and Lee Ji-kang, Lee Ji-kang has no bullpen experience. In the five-man system, it is more helpful for Lee to go to the bullpen and play various roles such as long man.” That said, Yeom isn’t nailing down Lee’s return to the bullpen. He left the door open for additional starts depending on the situation. 토토사이트
Lee effectively shut down the KIA bats on the day. He utilized his new forkball (28) more than his fastball (26), which topped out at 146 mph. His curveball (7) and slider (6) were also effective. He threw just 67 pitches in five innings, and his aggressive pitching allowed him to get outs with ease.
LG got on the board first in the second inning when Kim Min-sung, who returned from injury on the day, pulled a fastball (149 kilometers per hour) up the middle from KIA starter Lee Yi-ri over the left field fence with two outs. He marked his comeback with his fifth home run of the season. After taking a 2-0 lead, LG capitalized on errors in the top of the fifth and seventh innings, scoring one run apiece to go up 4-0.
In the bottom of the seventh, LG gave up a leadoff two-run homer to KIA’s Choi Hyung-woo (his 13th of the season), but did not score any more runs. LG added two more runs in the bottom of the eighth, capitalizing on a throwing error on an infield grounder and a sacrifice fly to right field by Moon Bo-kyung in the bottom of the inning.