‘Baby Eagle’ Kim Ki-joong’s clean two-inning hard pitching. It definitely made a big impact.
The Hanwha Eagles lost 0-3 in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League regular season home game against SSG Landers held at Daejeon Hanwha Life Eagles Park on the 9th, eventually allowing the first sweep series of the season.
Hanwha should have rebounded in this home series against SSG. They were the ones who achieved a shabby record of 1 win and 3 losses out of the last 5 consecutive away games, except for 1 game canceled due to rain. If he shows a 180 degree different performance in the home against a strong enemy called SSG, he could definitely announce a different start to the season. However, contrary to expectations, the result was a complete defeat.
In the end, it was the bullpen that held back Hanwha. Even Hanwha coach Carlos Subero was regretful, saying, “If the bullpen didn’t collapse and the good flow continued, we would have won 4 or 5.”
Until this day, only Kim Bum-soo and Kang Jae-min had done their part in the Hanwha bullpen. Most of the bullpen pitchers, such as Yoon San-heum, who gathered expectations, and Jang Si-hwan, who desperately needed a revival, as well as Joo Hyun-sang and Han Seung-hyuk, fell.
But there was hope. Left-hander Kim Ki-joong, who was called up on the 8th in place of Joo Hyun-sang, raised expectations with an impactful pitch. Coach Subero also said, “Recently, I showed good pitching. He is also a left-handed pitcher who is not many on the team.”
In the final game against SSG, Kim Ki-joong took the mound in the 6th inning, where he was trailing 0-3, and recorded 2 strikeouts until the 7th inning and delivered perfect pitches without allowing a single player to go on base. 메이저놀이터
In the 6th inning, he struck out Hanyu-seom, the lead batter, by throwing a fastball and a slider evenly. Park Seong-han struck out with a floating ball and Jeon Eui-san with a pitch.
In the seventh, he ended the inning with eight balls. Lee Jae-won, Choo Shin-soo, and Choi Ji-hoon were treated with fly balls and ground balls, putting SSG’s top line to rest.
It was Hanwha that could have suffered a crushing defeat. The process of giving 3 points was not good, and the other line was also completely blocked by Kirk McCarty. It was Kim Ki-jung who changed the bad trend, and the batting line also energized his good pitch. Of course, I missed the opportunity that came, and in the end I couldn’t even score a point.
It is Kim Ki-joong who was once evaluated as Hanwha’s future starter. Currently, Kim Min-woo, Jang Min-jae, and Moon Dong-joo make up the native starting lineup, so they have been pushed out for a while. However, if pitching like today continues, he will definitely be given a chance. Maybe it was a day that could be a turning point for Kim Ki-joong.