Kiwoom Heroes right-hander Choi Won-tae fired a signal to escape from sluggishness.
Choi Won-tae started the home game against the LG Twins in the 2023 professional baseball KBO League held at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on the 10th and pitched 99 balls in 6 innings, giving up 7 hits, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts and 1 run.
Choi Won-tae, who continued to pitch well at the beginning of the season, has been in a bit of a slump lately. On the 28th of last month, against the Busan Lotte Giants (2-5 Kiwoom loss), he only scored 4 runs in 6 innings, and on the 4th against the Daegu Samsung Lions (1-14 Kiwoom loss), he scored 4 runs in 4 innings, 11 hits, 2 homers, 1 walk, 10 runs and 9 earned runs. It collapsed.
However, despite such sluggishness, the command tower gave him full support. Kiwoom coach Hong Won-ki, whom we met before the game, said, “(Choi Won-tae) showed a sense of responsibility as well as the Busan game (April 28). On the 4th, in Daegu Gyeonggi-do, it was not good at the beginning, but there must have been something to be gained in the results in its own way.”
And as if to live up to the expectations of the commanding tower, Choi Won-tae showed off a good pitch that day. After coming off the mound at the end of the 6th inning, where the team trailed 0-1, Kiwoom succeeded in turning 9-1 in an attack in the top of the 7th inning, so he also met the requirements for a second win (3 losses) in the season.
From the end of the first inning, Choi Won-tae showed off his good condition. After leading Hong Chang-ki, the lead hitter, to a grounder in front of the pitcher, he was allowed to go on base due to his own error, but Moon Seong-joo (pitcher grounder) and Kim Hyeon-soo (third baseman fly) were put to rest and sighed. He then got a heavy hit from Austin Dean, but ended the inning by handling Oh Ji-hwan with a shortstop fly.
Choi Won-tae, who gained momentum, caught Moon Bo-kyung and Kim Min-seong with a foul fly to left field and a ground ball to third baseman, respectively, at the end of the second inning. Afterwards, he allowed Kim Ki-yeon a hit that fell to left center, but tied Park Hae-min with a fly to right field and did not concede.메이저사이트
At the end of the third inning, his crisis management skills stood out. He contributed hits and walks to Hong Chang-ki and Moon Seong-joo, bringing a crisis to himself. He then induced Kim Hyeon-soo and Austin with a straight hit by the shortstop and a fly by the center fielder, and seemed to take a breather, but Oh Ji-hwan committed a straight walk and reached the bases with two outs. However, he did not waver and ended the inning by leading Moon Bo-gyeong to center fielder’s fly.
In the bottom of the 4th inning, Choi Won-tae found stability again. He increased his out count against Kim Min-seong (strikeout), Kim Ki-yeon (third baseman fly), and Park Hae-min (strikeout), completing his first three-way strikeout inning that day. In the bottom of the 5th inning, after striking out Hong Chang-ki, Moon Seong-joo got a left-handed hit, but Kim Hyun-soo led second baseman to a fly, and even Moon Seong-ju, who had not returned to first base, was caught and the inning was finished.
The bottom of the 6th inning was a bit disappointing. He allowed consecutive hits to Austin and Oh Ji-hwan, and was driven to 1st and 2nd base safely. Afterwards, he seemed to escape the crisis by blocking Moon Bo-kyung and Kim Min-seong with consecutive strikeouts, but was hit by a timely one RBI hit by pinch hitter Park Dong-won through the left wall. Fortunately, Park Hae-min was knocked out and he did not concede any additional runs. Kiwoom brought Yang Hyun to the mound in the bottom of the 7th inning.