It was a day to celebrate. The Lotte Giants of the Korean Baseball Organization overcame an unexpected early loss of a starting pitcher to secure a sweep of the series, with the second pitcher, Choi Yi-jun, 25, at the center of it all.
Lotte went on to win 9-1 against the Samsung Lions at Sajik Stadium in Busan on April 26. With the win, Lotte wrapped up a six-game series against Kia and Samsung with a 5-1 record in the top tier.
On this day, Lotte almost didn’t make it out of the gate. Charlie Barnes, who had been the ace of the series with three consecutive quality starts, left the game early with the bases loaded in the second inning with left adductor soreness. After giving up a straight-up double to Kim Ji-chan, he quickly called for the trainer and had to come off the mound.
An unexpected injury to the starting pitcher forced the situation. Lotte was forced to bring up a second pitcher in a hurry, and Choi Yi-joon was the man of choice. Barely warmed up, Choi faced McKinnon, the No. 3 hitter, with the bases loaded and two outs. On two balls and two strikes, he induced McKinnon to fly out to shortstop to end the rally.
In the third, Kim Young-woong induced Lee Jae-hyun to fly out to left field. He gave up a single to Kang Min-ho, but got out of the jam by striking out Oh Jae-il. In the fourth inning, Choi got leadoff hitter Kim Jae-sang to ground out to first base, then gave up a single to Kim Heon-gon and a double to Koo Ja-uk to put runners on first and second with one out. While facing Kim Ji-chan, Choi suffered a broken nail on his right middle finger. Choi had to leave the game.
Kim Sang-soo then got out of the jam by striking out both Kim and McKinnon. The game flowed in Lotte’s favor and they took a two-run lead while Choi was still on the mound. The bats then exploded for more runs and the win. Choi earned his first win of the season. He picked up his second career win.
When we caught up with Choi after the game, he was taping up his right middle finger. But Heung was not deterred. He danced in front of the crowd as he was 스포츠토토 honored as the club’s player of the game.
After the game, Choi was shy, but laughed, “I was hiding it, but the team won today.”
“At first, I tried to throw with the nail, but when I threw it to Kim Ji-chan, it became more audible. I think (Yoo) Gang-yi noticed it and changed it. It was subtle, but as I was throwing it, it became more audible,” he said, adding, ‘I thought I needed to get one more batter, so I threw with more force, and I think that’s why it was audible.’
“I hadn’t warmed up at all, just stretched before the game,” he said of his first time on the mound. “I thought, ‘Let’s get the guy on the mound,’ not ‘let’s stop him,’ and it worked 카지노사이트 out better. I didn’t care who the hitter was, I just came up and threw, trusting Gangnam’s sign,” he explained.
Choi’s catch turned the tide and the bats came back to win the game. “I’ve never felt like this before. I hope the batters will hit well in the same situation,” he said, ”I felt a lot of pride. I think we have to forget about today and start tomorrow with a fresh mind,” he emphasized.