"You have to do it hard"
LG Twins manager Yeom Kyung-yeop watched the team's training at Jamsil Stadium on the 4th, and as soon as he met the reporters, he said, "It's tough."
LG will play the first semi-playoff game (best out of five) against KT Wiz at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on Saturday. The two teams that competed to win the Korean Series last year met at the semi-playoff, a series that is two levels below this year.
KT is gaining momentum through its magical journey. After 144 games of regular season, KT advanced to the wild card game by beating SSG Landers 4-3 in its first ever fifth-place match. In the wild card game, KT faced fourth-place Doosan Bears and won in both the first and second games, setting a new record of setting an upsetting wild card game for the first time in its history. It was the first to set a new record in succession.
Yeom Kyung-yeop said of KT, "I was lucky and I got better than the pennant race. I am even better than the pennant race. The fourth starting pitcher is also fully prepared. The middle is also good. So far, I am not in a good situation. I know I will be exhausted if I continue to increase from here. I expect this will be a tight semi-playoff as I will be able to compete now when my strength is at its peak. I think I will be able to reach Game 5."
Foreign pitchers Cuevas (six scoreless innings in the first round of the WC) and Benjamin (seven scoreless innings in the second round of the WC) showed off their autumn power, and there is also Um Sang-baek, a 13-win pitcher. Ko Young-pyo, who pitched one inning as a bullpen in the second round of the wild-card game, will start the first round on the 5th.
Cho Hyung-joon, who returned from rehabilitation from elbow surgery, is throwing to the bullpen. Son Dong-hyun will join the must-win group, reducing the burden on Kim Min and Kim Min-soo, who pitched more than 75 innings. On the other hand, LG's closer Yoo Young-chan will not take the mound in the first game. This is because Yoo Young-chan suffered his father's injury on the 3rd and the 5th is the cause of death.
When the two teams faced off in the Korean Series last year, the current KT is superior to KT. "I think (KT's) performance is much better this year. KT came up to the Korean Series last year because it was a bit tired, and now it will meet with us after learning the sense of the game. KT is much better in composition than last year," Yeom said.
MVP Rojas has returned to KT this year and is leading the team's lineup. Rojas showed an active performance with a batting average of 329 with 112 RBIs and an OPS of .989 in 144 games. He hit a come-from-behind three-run homer in the eighth inning in the game against SSG to rank fifth. Kang, who failed to play in the Korean Series last year due to psychological reasons, succeeded in making a comeback this year. He had a batting average of 289, 26 homers with 96 RBIs and an OPS of .840 in 144 games. As the fourth batter, he hit the finishing hit in the second game of the wild card game, leading the team to a 1-0 victory.
In order to solve the problem of weak bullpen, LG will use first starter Hernandez as a bullpen pitcher at the semi-playoff. He will assume an important role as the second pitcher after starting. In the winning game, setup man Kim Jin-sung and closing pitcher Yoo Young-chan should be connected. 메이저놀이터
Ens, Choi Won-tae, Lim Chan-kyu and Son Joo-young will be the starters. In order for LG to beat KT, which has gained momentum, its batters must explode. "Only when the batting line is revived can the game be easily solved," Yeom said, citing the performance of key hitters such as Kim Hyun-soo, Oh Ji-hwan and Park Dong-won as his key points. If he hits long balls that he showed in last year's Korean Series, Yeom will realize the game plan that he wants.