In the end, they were unable to complete the third inning.
Second-year Kiwoom Heroes pitcher Joo Seung-woo started the 14th game of the season against the NC Dinos of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at NC Park in Changwon on June 6. It was Joo’s first start of the season and his first start in 364 days since September 7 last year against the Daegu Samsung Lions (2 innings, 1 hit, 4 strikeouts).안전놀이터
Joo, who joined Kiwoom as a first-round pick in 2022 after graduating from Seoul High-Sungkyunkwan University, posted a 10.80 ERA in four games without a loss in his rookie season and an 11.57 ERA in six appearances out of the bullpen this season.
Before the game, Kiwoom manager Hong Won-ki said, “I’m going to wait until the third inning, but there are always variables. I prepared a lot in the second team, but the first team stage is different. It will mean a lot to pitch today. The mindset will be different. I hope it will be a confirmation of my potential.”
He continued, “I’ve been learning to start in the second team. I can throw close to 100 pitches. It’s not about the number of pitches, it’s about the content. You have to look at your crisis management skills and your choice of pitches with batters comprehensively. Above all, to survive in the pros, you have to have good command of your pitches.”
In the first inning, Son As-seob led off with a single. Park Min-woo singled and Park Geon-woo walked to put runners on first and second. After the fourth batter, Jason Martin, singled to left field, a wild pitch put runners on second and third, but Kim Sung-wook grounded out to third to end the threat.
In the second inning, there was another crisis. The leadoff batter, Oh Young-soo, was hit by a pitch. Another wild pitch followed, and after a 10-pitch at-bat, Seo Ho-cheol grounded out to third, but gave up an RBI double to Kim Hyung-joon to take the lead. Kim Joo-won flied out to center field, but another wild pitch allowed Kim to advance to third. Luckily, Son Asub grounded out to end the threat.
Joo Seung-woo couldn’t get out of the third inning. He got Park Min-woo to fly out to center field, but back-to-back singles from Park Gun-woo and Martin put runners on second and third.
That was it. He turned the ball over to Yang Hyun. He pitched 2.1 innings, allowing one run on five hits and one walk. She threw 59 pitches. He threw 29 fastballs, 21 forkballs, and nine sliders. His fastball topped out at 147. Fortunately, the runs didn’t add up as Yang closed out the inning without allowing a run.
Overall, it wasn’t a bad performance, but the back-to-back blowouts in the first and second innings were disappointing.
Meanwhile, with the score tied at 1-1, the top of the fourth inning is underway.