I shook and faltered, but I held on...LG, which finished in second place in the first half, looks higher in the second half

I shook and faltered, but I held on...LG, which finished in second place in the first half, looks higher in the second half

Blog Article

There were certainly ups and downs, and bad injuries continued. However, it did not collapse. It finished the first half of the season by ranking at the top of the list. This is the story of the LG Twins.

Last year, LG achieved its third overall win in 29 years since 1994 and achieved its third overall victory in 1990, 1994, and 2023, aiming for its second consecutive victory. There was certainly a leak of power in the bullpen, including Ko Woo-suk (Miami Marlins), an undisputed closer who advanced to the U.S. stage, Lee Jung-yong, an all-weather resource right-hander who left to join the military, and Ham Deok-joo, a left-hander who underwent elbow surgery, but the main reason for this confidence was the robust batting lineup. In addition, the starting lineup consisting of Detrick N.S., Casey Kelly, Lim Chan-kyu, Choi Won-tae and Son Joo-young was evaluated as competitive.

LG had expected to display the power of defending champion from the outset, but it did not do well in the beginning. The starting lineup faltered and barely managed to advance. Kelly and Lim Chan-gyu fell into a slump together, and ENC's performance, which had expected him to play as ace, was also on the ups and downs. On top of that, the main shortstop and catcher Oh Ji-hwan and Park Dong-won showed disappointment, and they had to settle for 16 wins, two draws and 15 losses (fifth) through April.

Fortunately, LG gradually began to rebound in May. While foreign pitchers such as N.C. and Kelly were still sluggish, native starting pitchers such as Lim Chan-gyu, Choi Won-tae, and Son Joo-young gained strength. The structure of the bullpen also stood out. Right-hander Kim Jin-sung, who posted an ERA of 0.00 in May, showed off his veteran's dignity, and Yoo Young-chan has also perfectly adapted to his new position as a closing pitcher.

Hong Chang-ki and Moon Sung-joo stood out among the batters. Hong recorded a batting average of 0.354 with one homer and 17 RBIs in May, while Moon also led the LG lineup with a batting average of 0.397 with 11 RBIs during the same period. LG, which also had rookie players including Koo Bon-hyuk and Kim Bum-suk, added 16 wins and nine losses to finish second place (32 wins, two draws and 24 losses).
However, LG clearly faced a crisis in June. Lim Chan-kyu and Choi Won-tae, who had been pitching well in the starting lineup, were out of the team due to fine damage to their waist and right dorsal muscles, respectively. ENS and Kelly rebounded, and Son Joo-young still pitched well, but the sudden departure of the two starting players forced LG to hold frequent bullpen days. "I played twice (bullpens day in a week) when I was with the Heroes," LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop said. "It's my first time to play three times," adding, "I'm doing something I've never done in my life. (Managing pitchers) is very difficult."

Fielders also failed to avoid the evil spirit of injury. While Oh Ji-hwan, the infield commander, was out on May 30 due to a wrist injury, Moon Sung-joo, who was showing off his good batting performance, was also excluded from the first team entry on June 21 due to fine damage to his hamstring. 밤알바
However, LG was not swayed by these unfavorable factors. Of course, other top teams were not able to escape, but they stuck to the ground by minimizing consecutive losses. Kelly, who was once embroiled in rumors of a substitution, continued his perfect pitching through the eighth inning against the Samsung Lions at Jamsil on June 25 and achieved a perfect rebound, completing nine innings of one hit and shutout. Unfortunately, LG ended up with a luge series in the three consecutive games of the Kiwoom Heroes on June 2-4, the last series of the first half, but ended the first half with a 3-2 victory and finished the second place (46 wins, two draws and 38 losses). He is 3.5 games behind the top-ranked KIA Tigers (48 wins, two draws and 33 losses).