A revival of the 154 km impenetrable wall that was as thrilling as a home run
Go Woo-seok (25, LG Twins), the ‘iron-walled finisher’ we knew, was the same.
The LG Twins won the Korean Series for the first time in 21 years. LG defeated the KT Wiz 5-4 in the second game of the ‘2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO Postseason’ Korean Series held at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 8th and succeeded in balancing the series record with 1 win and 1 loss. 토토사이트
LG, who entered the Korean Series for the first time since 2002 when the Korea-Japan World Cup was held, experienced the emotional moment of winning the Korean Series after 7,671 days. Before this day’s game, LG’s last record of victory in the Korean Series was an 8-7 win in Game 5 of the Korean Series against the Samsung Lions in 2002. At the time, the winning pitcher was second-year right-hander Lee Dong-hyun, and the pitcher who earned the save was Jang Moon-seok, so you can guess the weight of time.
In fact, on this day, LG was overcome with anxiety from the start of the game as they might suffer a second loss in a row. This is because starting pitcher Choi Won-tae was shaken from the first inning and was shut out after only ⅓ innings, and LG got off to a difficult start, allowing as many as 4 runs in the first inning alone.
However, LG was not frustrated. In the bottom of the third inning, Shin Min-jae seemed to lose steam as he was out while attempting to steal second base, but Austin Dean’s timely hit to left on a chance with runners on 1st and 3rd with 2 outs created by Hong Chang-ki’s walk and Park Hae-min’s infield hit to the pitcher made up for one run. LG added 1 point with Oh Ji-hwan’s solo home run with 1 out in the bottom of the 6th inning, and Kim Hyun-soo’s timely double to right with 2 outs and runners on 1st base in the bottom of the 7th inning successfully closed in on the score at 3-4.
The highlight was episode 8. In the bottom of the 8th inning, when Oh Ji-hwan reached base through a walk, pitcher Moon Bo-kyung hit a sacrifice bunt and LG had a chance with one out and runners on second base. Park Dong-won did not hesitate and took a full swing, hitting a two-run home run to left-center to turn the score around 5-4.
In fact, the secret to LG’s comeback to 5-4 is the pitchers’ excellent pitching. In fact, LG had no choice but to operate it as a ‘bullpen day’. Lee Jeong-yong allowed 3 hits and no runs in 1⅔ innings, Wooyoung Jung allowed 2 hits and no runs in 1⅔ innings, Jin-seong Kim allowed no hits and no runs in ⅔ innings, Seung-hyun Baek allowed 1 hit and no runs in ⅔ innings, and Young-chan Yoo allowed no runs in 2⅔ innings. No hits and no runs, Ham Deok-ju lasted one inning without any hits and no runs, laying the foundation for the comeback.
Now there is only one thing left. The task was to prevent KT from pursuing in the top of the 9th inning. LG put closing pitcher Go Woo-seok on the mound.
Go Woo-seok also appeared on the mound in Game 1 of the Korean Series the previous day (the 7th), but suffered the pain of bowing his head after being hit by Moon Sang-cheol’s huge final double in the top of the 9th inning. LG lost 2-3 when Go Woo-seok received a decisive blow and failed to dominate the series.
Nevertheless, LG trusted Go Woo-seok once more. And Go Woo-seok responded to that belief with a fastball that reached up to 154 km.
From the top of the 9th inning, KT put Kim Min-hyuk, the best pinch hitter available from the bench, at the plate, but Go Woo-seok paid no heed to this and threw a 130km curve, resulting in a missed swing and a strikeout. The same goes for Cho Yong-ho, who appeared next. Go Woo-seok, who consistently threw fastballs in the 150 km/h range, struck out while taking the lead with a fastball. Go Woo-seok’s last out-of-count sacrifice was Kim Sang-soo. Two 154km fastballs were enough to catch Kim Sang-soo with a ground ball out to second baseman.
In the end, LG was able to win 5-4 as Go Woo-seok maintained a close 1-point lead, and was able to take a breather by finishing the 1st and 2nd games held in Jamsil with 1 win and 1 loss. It wasn’t just one win.
After the game, LG coach Yeom Kyung-yeop also expressed satisfaction. Coach Yeom Kyeong-yeop said about Go Woo-seok, “Go Woo-seok’s performance in the first game was not bad. One missed throw was hit well by the opponent. The result was not good, but Ko Woo-seok returned to his original form. The players, I, and the coaching staff all thanked (Go) Woo-seok. He said a lot of words to instill confidence. As our closing pitcher, we must protect him to achieve our goal. He talked about the parts that were not good and how he used breaking balls when his fastballs were flying. He caught his fastballs straight and was in control. I look forward to the future. “He said.
Go Woo-seok was designated as one of the key players in this Korean Series. Just last year, Ko Woo-seok, who had pitched 60⅔ innings in 61 games and showed off his power as a special closing pitcher with 4 wins, 2 losses, 42 saves, and an ERA of 1.48, appeared in 44 games this year in the regular season and pitched 44 innings, going 3 wins, 8 losses, 15 saves, and an ERA of 3.68. I went through a time where I felt more regret than joy.
He was probably affected by his physical condition. Go Woo-seok had a busy schedule this year, attending the World Baseball Classic (WBC) and the Hangzhou Asian Games national team, and his shoulder and back condition were not good.