Hangzhou AG’s Liu Zhongil’s ‘breathtaking’ left shoulder–a complicated gold medal strategy
- allforyouclick
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- on Sep 10, 2023
Game 2 of the LG-KIA doubleheader on April 9. KIA starter Lee Yi-ri struck out LG’s leadoff hitter Kim Hyun-soo in the top of the fifth inning with the count at 3-4. His pitch count was up to 85, but he seemed to have no problem staying on the mound for a bit longer.
At that moment, pitching coach Seo Jae-heng and a trainer visited the mound, and there was an unexpected pause. Lee’s left middle finger callus had peeled off. Lee couldn’t throw another pitch.
With foreign pitcher Mario Sanchez on the disabled list, the Kia bench was worried, as they had another option for a starter. It wasn’t all bad news for KIA. The coaching staff of the Hangzhou national team, which convenes on April 22, also had to take a look.
First and foremost, the team will have a problem utilizing left-handed pitchers. The team selected 12 pitchers, with three of them being lefties. Koo Chang-mo (NC), who was initially expected to be an ace, has recovered enough to pitch out of the bullpen after his injury, but he hasn’t been able to get into practice mode yet. It is important to prove his physical condition by pitching in practice, even for a short time. Regardless of the outcome, however, the national team coaching staff will need to figure out what his role will be.메이저놀이터
Lee has been struggling with injuries and hasn’t pitched well recently. After missing one rotation with a left shoulder sprain, he returned to action against SSG in Munhak on March 3, but was shaky, giving up four runs on four hits (two homers) and three walks in three innings, and today against LG, he struggled with his pitches early on before abruptly leaving the mound, giving up four runs (three earned) on three hits and five walks in 4.1 innings.
KIA’s Choi Ji-min. Senior Staff Writer Jung Jeong-yoon
Set-up man Choi Ji-min is on a steady pace. As of September 9, Choi has appeared in 53 games and has a 2.15 ERA in 54.1 innings pitched, and while he was a bit shaky around the All-Star break, he has stabilized since August with a 0.87 ERA in 13 games over 10.1 innings pitched. Aside from Choi, the other specialized bullpen arms on the team are right-handers, including Ko Woo-seok, Jung Woo-young (LG), and Park Young-hyun (KT).
The team, which is in Group B of the tournament, will start the tournament on October 1 against Hong Kong and play two games against Chinese Taipei on October 2. On the third day, they will play the qualifiers. They will then advance to the Super Round, which will feature the top two teams from each group. They will play the first and second place teams from Group A on the 5th and 6th, with the final on the 7th.
The team will need four starting pitchers. With the exception of left-handers, there is no problem with the number of professional starters such as Kwak Bin (Doosan), Park Se-woong and Na Kyun-an (Lotte), Moon Dong-joo (Hanwha), and Won Tae-in (Samsung). However, depending on the characteristics of the opposing team, left-handed pitchers may become more useful. Finding a way to utilize them while checking their physical condition is a challenge for Ryu Joong-il, the national team manager.