Was the first blown save a medicine?
KIA Tigers right-hander Jeong Hae-young (24) is performing well as a reliable backdoor guard following his first blown save. He made his debut on March 23 in the second game of the season against the NC Dinos. He appeared in the 9th inning while trailing 4-5 and pitched a clean inning without giving up any runs. However, during the game against the Kiwoom Heroes on the 27th, he came to the mound in the 9th inning while leading 3-2 but gave up 3 runs, resulting in a comeback loss.
The blown save of last year's save king left a shockwave. After that, Jo Sang-woo, Jeon Sang-hyun, and Kwak Do-kyu took turns struggling, resulting in a series of comeback losses. The injury of key batter Kim Do-young further decreased the team's scoring ability, and the collapse of the bullpen made things even tougher. The injuries to regulars Park Chan-ho and Kim Sun-bin have also contributed to the team's drop to the lower ranks.
At that time, manager Lee Beom-ho was not overly concerned about Jeong Hae-young's blown save. Instead, he praised him, saying, "His pitches were good. The speed has increased significantly." He noted that only the control was slightly shaky, but the quality of his pitches was top-notch. In fact, he threw fastballs exceeding 150 km/h several times, with a maximum speed recorded at 151 km/h. His average fastball speed was in the upper 140 km/h range, a significant increase compared to the beginning of last season.
After that, Jeong Hae-young showed stability. On March 30, in a match against Hanwha, he came in during the 9th inning while leading 5-3 and secured the victory with 1 hit and no runs allowed. He allowed a hit to the first batter, Shim Woo-jun, but induced a double play from Hwang Young-mook and caught Ahn Chi-hong's fly ball to right field. On April 3 against Samsung in Gwangju, he overcame difficulties himself and pushed through without wavering.
Leading 3-0 in the 9th inning, he induced a ground ball from first batter Lewin Diaz, but a fielding error occurred. Immediately after, he gave up a double to Kang Min-ho, allowing a run. He became even stronger in the crisis, throwing a fastball at 151 km/h for a swinging strikeout against the home run hitter Kim Young-woong. He aimed for a pitch on the inside against Park Byung-ho but hit him. However, he struck out pinch hitter Kim Sung-yoon with a 150 km/h fastball and handled Ryu Ji-hyuk with a ground ball to first base, securing the win.
He managed to protect the one-run lead well. On the 8th, he came in during the 9th inning while leading 5-4 against Lotte. After a seven-pitch battle, he got the first batter, Hwang Seong-bin, to pop out to center field. He struck out Jeong Hoon after a nine-pitch duel. Then, he faced Reyes, the owner of 202 hits, in a direct confrontation. He threw a powerful fastball at 151 km/h, striking him out swinging. KIA dropped to 9th place after suffering two consecutive losses against LG last weekend, but this victory provided a sigh of relief.
After the shocking blown save, he secured three consecutive saves. Currently, the team's scoring ability has dropped, so even when they win, the margins are not significant. The importance of the closer role has increased. Jeong Hae-young suddenly dropped to the low 140 km/h range at the start of the 2023 season, raising concerns. Last year, he was in the mid-140 km/h range, but this year he has raised his speed from the beginning to 150 km/h. He recorded 8 strikeouts over 5 innings. With the bullpen struggling, the recovery of the high-speed closer at 150 km/h is welcome news for KIA.
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