It was not the appointment that expected a great fight. Still, the results weren’t too good. Kiwoom Kim Dong-gyu, a promising pitcher from LG, was battered with 5 runs in 2 innings in his first-team debut.
On the 13th, Kim Dong-gyu made his first-team debut in a match against the LG Twins of the ‘2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League’ held at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul. The head coach expected to pitch 3 innings, but in just 2 innings, he gave up 4 hits, including 1 home run, and 3 walks, giving up 5 runs. Kiwoom lost 8-17 as even the second pitcher, Yang Hyeon, collapsed with 7 runs in 1 inning.
Kim Dong-gyu, who was from the second round of last year’s draft, joined LG and wore a Kiwoom uniform with Lee Joo-hyung when Choi Won-tae was traded on the 29th of last month. Even in LG, he had only one game experience in the first team, so he joined the Futures team even after the transfer. In the first appearance against the SSG Futures team on the 4th, he played 5 scoreless innings, but in the next game against Lotte on the 9th, he gave up 3 runs (2 earned runs) in ⅓ innings.
Regardless of his achievements so far, he was a player expected by LG as a promising player who could grow into a fastball starting pitcher in the future. LG coach Yeom Kyung-yeop said ahead of the match against Kim Dong-gyu on the 13th, “I thought that if I improved my stamina, I could become a starting pitcher who can throw 150 km per hour. There was, but Kiwoom took a good look at it and took it.”
Director Hong Won-ki of Kiwoom said, “I look forward to three innings because it’s my first team start. I want to show my ball. I haven’t decided on the number of pitches. If I throw three innings effectively, I can throw more.” In addition, he expected aggressive pitching without excessive walks.
On the mound, Kim Dong-gyu took off his hat and bowed his head toward the LG fans at first base and the dugout. And the first fastball he threw flew over the head of catcher Kim Dong-heon. A walk to Hong Chang-ki, a right-handed hit to Shin Min-jae, and a walk to Kim Hyun-soo. Kim Dong-gyu, who sent out all the first three batters, gave up two runs in the first inning with a wild throw and a sacrifice fly.
He was able to get on the mound in the second inning, catching Austin Dean, Oh Ji-hwan, and Moon Bo-gyeong with float balls. Coincidentally, Kiwoom’s other line also caught up with 2 points at the beginning of the 2nd inning and tied the score 2-2. However, Kim Dong-gyu gave up a solo home run to first batter Park Dong-won in the second inning and lost the lead again. In the 1st, 1st and 3rd bases, 3rd base runner Lee Jae-won and 1st base runner Hong Chang-ki double-stealed runs. In the continued 1st and 2nd base, Shin Min-jae’s frontal assault hit could not be blocked, allowing a heavy hit at the right time. The score widened to 2-5.메이저사이트
Kiwoom gave up the victory early as the second pitcher, Yang Hyeon, collapsed. Yang Hyun got 7 hits and gave up 7 runs in 3 innings. The number of runs increased as second baseman Kim Hye-seong made an error.