The Lions have reorganized their teams for this year. After the end of last season, they left the heavy responsibility to pitchers Im Chang-min and Kim Jae-yoon, who were acquired from the free agent market. Mostly, Im Chang-min plays the seventh inning and Kim Jae-yoon plays the eighth inning. The pressure on closer Oh Seung-hwan has been reduced, resulting in synergy.
Samsung did not have a clear winning team last year. Right-handers Lee Seung-hyun, Woo Kyu-min (current KT Wiz), Kim Tae-hoon and Lee Jae-ik accumulated holdouts, but it was regrettable to call them the “winning team.” This is the background of the team recording the most come-from-behind losses (38 times) in the league. Samsung put its all-out efforts to strengthen its halfway through the winter and succeeded in recruiting players it wanted.
Ahead of this season, Lee Jong-yeol, general manager of Samsung, said, “With new pitchers, Oh’s burden will be greatly reduced. Then, overall, his pitching results could be even better,” adding, “The pressure itself is different between a first inning save and a second inning save. If I can share that burden with my fellow pitchers, I’m sure he will become stronger.”
The prediction was right. The winning lineup, which continued with “Im-Kim-O,” instilled a sense of stability in the team. Im Chang-min had an ERA of 1.50 holds for 11 in 19 games and 18 innings, and Kim Jae-yoon had an ERA of 2 wins, 2 losses and 10 holds for 3.13 in 23 innings in 19 games. Im Chang-min ranked second in the league hold, and Kim Jae-yoon tied for third.
Oh also gained momentum. He had one win, two losses and 11 saves with a 1.80 ERA in 18 games and 20 innings. He ranks third in saves in the league. He is just one shy of 12 saves by Moon Seung-won (SSG Landers) and Jung Hae-young (KIA Tigers), who are tying for first place.
“The middle players are doing really well. In particular, the winning team was right in front of Oh,” Samsung coach Park Jin-man said. “Oh has a fixed timing and just needs to completely block one inning, which will make him feel better (than last year).”
“It is important that we have an environment where we can do our best in one inning without playing multiple innings. It seems that bullpen pitchers, including Pil Seung-jo, are increasingly filling their confidence,” he added.
Oh was born in 1982 and is 42 years old this year. He is still showing off his skills even at the age of 40. “He has a lot of experience. You can’t buy that experience even with money,” Park said. “He has the ability to prevent runners from being sent out or shaken up in a crisis eventually. I hope younger pitchers will learn from those skills. Then, I will be able to develop further.”
Thanks to its pitching staff, Samsung safely completed its “hellish” schedule last week. It had one win and one loss (one game canceled due to rain) in showdowns with the Kia Tigers, ranking first in the league, and two wins and one loss in three consecutive games with the NC Dinos, ranking second in the league. It elevated its ranking from the third place to a joint second place. It is two games behind the Kia Tigers, which is ranking first in the league.
Last week, the batting average of 0.208 was the lowest among the 10 clubs. Instead, the pitching staff held out by ranking fourth with a 3.64 ERA. This means that they pulled out points when necessary and kept each precious point well. The
BY: 토토사이트
