Samsung Lions manager Park Jin-man expressed his disappointment with Won Tae-in’s last outing of the first half.
Ahead of the Samsung Lions’ 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League game against the KIA Tigers at Gwangju Kia Champions Field on Wednesday, Park reflected on the pitching performance of Won Tae-in, who took the loss after giving up three runs (one earned) on eight hits (one home run) in 6⅓ innings with three strikeouts and one walk the previous day (Dec. 12).메이저사이트
Won got off to a light start, working out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the first inning, but gave up a solo shot to left field to Park Chan-ho in the bottom of the second. The team responded in the top of the fourth inning with an RBI groundout by Kang Min-ho and an RBI single by Kang Kang-ul to make it 2-1.
However, Won Tae-in faltered in the bottom of the fifth inning after giving up back-to-back singles to Kim Tae-gun and Park Chan-ho. With runners on first and second, Choi Won-jun fielded a grounder and threw to second base, but the ball sailed wide of the shortstop who was in a hurry to cover the base, allowing Kim Tae-gun to score and tie the game.
In the next two innings, there was a close call at first and second base when Na Sung-bum’s bat broke, almost hitting Won Tae-in. In the end, Na Sung-bum was out on an infield single, and Won Tae-in gave up a push ball to Choi Hyung-woo with two outs, which was the final run of the game.
Won Tae-in threw 98 pitches through the sixth inning and was back on the mound in the seventh. After giving up a leadoff single to Park Chan-ho and a sacrifice bunt by Choi Won-joon to put runners on first and second, Won was replaced by Woo Kyu-min. Won threw 102 pitches. Won finished the first half with a 4-5 record and a 3.18 ERA in 15 games.
Before the 13th game, Park said of Won Tae-in, “It was a disappointing game for the players and the bench. It was a game that collapsed with one mistake. I would have regretted it more. It was a good experience, and I’m sure he’ll be more calm next time he’s in that situation.”
“The bench was disappointed not because Tae-in didn’t pitch well, but because he made a mistake. I was going to make a change after the sixth inning, and I said I wanted to keep him out for three more innings, but he got hit by a pitch in the first inning, so I thought I had to make a change, so I brought in Kim Do-young. It wasn’t a back-to-back hit, it was just an error, so I was very disappointed,” he continued.
Samsung enters the final game with the last place in the first half confirmed. “We had a lot of injuries, and our backups didn’t perform well,” Park said. On the pitching side, when the starters were good, the bullpen was bad, and when the bullpen protected the starters, the starters collapsed, and that affected the team’s mood. We’re getting better now, so I think we’ll be stronger in the second half than we were in the first,” he said, hoping for a second-half rebound.