A pitcher was hit by a pitch twice in the same game. Both times, he was hit in the leg, which could have caused him to react sensitively, but he laughed it off.
KIA’s Lee Yi-ri took the mound against KT Wiz in the ‘2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League’ at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on Aug. 8 and pitched five innings of three-hit ball with two walks and eight strikeouts to end the first half of the season with his seventh win.
His first time working with catcher Kim Tae-gun was a success, and he dominated the KT bats with his powerful stuff. However, there were some close calls. Lee was hit twice by KT batters. The first time was in the bottom of the first inning. In the second inning, KT’s Jang Jang-woo hit a ball that deflected off his left foot, and Lee quickly caught the ball and threw to first base, but made a throwing error. Coach Seo Jae-ng and a trainer came to the mound in surprise, and Lee gave a sign that he was fine. Luckily, he was able to continue pitching without any problems.
However, in the fifth inning, Lee was hit by a pitch again. With two outs in the bottom of the fifth, KT’s Kim Min-hyuk hit an infield single that hit him in the left shin. Lee went limp and complained of pain, and this time coach Seo Jae-heng and a trainer rushed to the mound. Lee smiled and signed that he was fine, but Seo was worried, signaling for a bullpen pitcher to be ready just in case.
After confirming that Lee was fine, he laughed and joked, “What’s wrong with you today?” With Seo’s cheerful leadership, Lee was able to relax and face the next batter with ease. He ended the day by striking out Hwang Jae-gyun with the bases loaded and two outs.토토사이트
Meanwhile, Seo Jae-ng returned as the first team pitching coach on the 29th of last month. After serving as the main pitching coach for the first team last year, he was moved to the reserve team after the season, but returned to the first team after half a year. In June, KIA’s starting pitchers had an ERA of 6.32, the lowest in the league. Both the starters and the bullpen were unstable. KIA is hoping that Seo’s older brother’s leadership will help turn things around. Even when Lee was hit by a pitch, it was clear that Seo has good chemistry with his players.
After a recent five-game winning streak, KIA slipped to ninth place at one point, but climbed to sixth place before the All-Star break, signaling a late-season comeback. They are now one game behind fifth-place NC and two games behind fourth-place Lotte. If they can continue their winning streak in the final series of the first half against Samsung on Nov. 11, they can return to the top five and move up to fourth place. With Yang Hyun-jong and Yoon Young-chul scheduled to pitch in the rotation, KIA’s upward trend is expected to continue.