SSG Landers head coach Lee Sung-yong said ahead of the team’s upcoming match against the Hanwha Eagles at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon on Feb. 2: “(Park) Jong-hoon went down to the Futures League and Kim Joo-on came up. We’re going to give Jong-hoon some time. We were thinking about it so he can reestablish himself in the second team.”
Jong-hoon started against Hanwha in Daejeon on April 1. He gave up six runs on eight hits (one home run), four walks, four wild pitches and two strikeouts in three innings, including a home run in the first inning.
His record this season is 1-3 with an 8.10 ERA in six games. He was sent down to the Futures League to regroup after struggling in his first start of the season, allowing one run (unearned) on two hits and six walks with two strikeouts in two innings.
Lee said, “I wanted (Park) to be able to pitch with stability, but it’s getting worse every game. The bullpen is struggling and the hitters are struggling. 카지노사이트 We thought about it and made a decision.”
The rotation was also tweaked. “I’m thinking about (Song) Young-jin on Sunday and (Lee) Ki-soon next Tuesday against LG Electronics,” Lee said.
SSG is currently missing two of the starting pitchers it envisioned before the season. Foreign player Robert Dugger has been released. A new foreign player, Drew Anderson, has arrived, but he still needs to get his visa, so it will be a while before he can pitch.
In the meantime,
Song Young-jin and Lee Ki-soon will need to step up. Song has a 5.40 ERA in six games this season. He has been preparing to start in the Futures League after being removed from the first-team roster on May 20. He pitched four innings of one-hit ball against the LG Twins on March 26, allowing one run on two hits with four strikeouts and no walks.
Lee started against the Daejeon Hanwha on March 30, giving up four runs on one hit (a home run) in 2⅔ innings with four walks and five strikeouts. Despite the sudden collapse, he showed promise, throwing the first two innings of a no-hitter against Ryu Hyun-jin in his first start of the season.
“Right now, there’s no other option but those guys. Shin Heon-min and Baek Seung-gun are training in the U.S. so they can come in June or July. We can think of a Plan B. For now, it’s a good situation to keep checking the second team and have good players.”
“Yesterday, I also spoke with coach Son Si-heon and thanked him for his support. He thanked me for playing his role in the second team while the first team was struggling,” Lee said.
Meanwhile,
SSG won the reverse game 8-7, despite Park Jong-hoon’s collapse, thanks to the bullpen’s strong pitching and the batting lineup’s late surge. They also won the second game 4-3 to complete the three-game series against Hanwha with a sweep.
“It was a difficult situation, but the players didn’t give up until the end, so I’m grateful as a manager,” said Lee. “We were missing two infielders due to injuries, 안전놀이터 but I could see that the players were more united. The way they didn’t give up made me realize that we are still competitive enough. I thought we must have something more than what we have,” he smiled.