On Tuesday against the Suwon KT Wiz, SSG Landers’ Park Sung-hyun was told by Choi Ji-hoon, who singled and scored from second base in the top of the ninth inning with the score 4-5, that “I think (KT closer Kim Jae-yoon) is a little less strong than yesterday.”
Kim had pitched three innings of one-hit ball the previous day (Sept. 9) in an 8-8 tie. He threw 31 pitches on Tuesday to earn his 26th save of the season.
“I think it’s time for me to get a hit,” Park said. Until the day before, he had been hitless in nine career at-bats against Kim Jae-yoon.
Park’s bat came alive, and it was the one that stopped the SSG Landers’ endless downward spiral.
SSG rallied for a 6-5 victory against the KT Wiz at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on Tuesday, thanks to Park’s two-run home run (his ninth of the season) in the bottom of the ninth inning. SSG snapped a three-game losing streak.
Trailing 3-5 in the top of the ninth, Choi Ji-hoon led off with a triple against KT’s Kim Jae-yoon. Choi followed with an RBI single to pull within 4-5. With the bases loaded and two outs, No. 5 hitter Park Sung-yi pulled a fastball from Kim Jae-yoon for a two-run home run to tie the game.
Park said, “The moment I hit it, I knew it was a big hit. However, I had a good pitch in today’s game, but it was caught by the opponent’s outfield, so I could only be sure that I hit about 70% of my pitches in the ninth inning.”
Even though Choi Ji-hoon had heard about the feeling of facing Kim Jae-yoon, the feeling of facing him in person was still powerful. “I liked (Kim Jae-yoon’s pitches),” Park laughed, “I focused on the forkball, but when I faced the fastball, my timing was late, so I focused on the fastball.”
Park’s batting average dropped from .298 last year to .268 this year. “I’m not a home run hitter and I’m not greedy for home runs at all,” he said. “I focused on hitting accurately, but instead of getting unintentional long balls, my batting average dropped and I was stressed.”메이저사이트
Park will join the Korean National Team at the Hangzhou Asian Games on March 23. “I hope the team can get to second or third place before I join the national team,” said Park, who gave the team a valuable one-run win.
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