The professional baseball team LG Twins will face the KT Wiz for the fourth time this season on the 29th at Suwon KT Wiz Park.
LG allowed a game-tying run with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth after leading 5-3 the previous day, and suffered a walk-off loss in the 10th inning. They have lost all three games against KT this season. If LG had won that day, they could have overtaken KT for first place, but after the comeback loss they fell farther behind by 1.5 games.
LG announced Lee Jeong-yong as the starting pitcher for the 29th. Lee has appeared in seven games this season (one start) with a 4.50 earned run average and no decisions. He moved into a temporary starting rotation spot after pitching out of the bullpen when Chirinos was absent from the starting rotation.
Lee Jeong-yong started as the pitcher on the 23rd against Hanwha at Jamsil, throwing three innings (41 pitches) and allowing two hits with three strikeouts and one run, pitching well. The next day manager Youm Kyoung-youb said, "Lee Jeong-yong will pitch as a starter for the time being. He looked better as a starter than in relief. In the next game he will throw 50 to 60 pitches."
If he pitches as effectively as he did against Hanwha, he could be expected to go as far as the fifth inning, but about four innings are anticipated. The relief pitchers will have to cover more innings.
However, LG suffered a comeback loss in the game on the 28th as the bullpen's designated closers collectively performed poorly. Woo Kang-hoon, Jang Hyun-sik, Kim Young-woo and Kim Jin-sung all showed struggles. Bullpen management is also expected to be difficult in the game on the 29th.
Woo Kang-hoon threw 21 pitches and allowed 3 hits and 3 runs in one-third of an inning. Manager Youm said he discourages relievers from pitching on consecutive days if their pitch count exceeds 20. Jang Hyun-sik threw 15 pitches and recorded two-thirds of an inning with one hit. With a 2-1 lead and two outs with runners on second and third, he allowed Kim Min-hyuk's two-RBI go-ahead single.
Kim Young-woo came in during the bottom of the ninth with a 5-3 lead and threw 20 pitches, recording one-third of an inning with one hit, two walks and two runs. Kim Jin-sung entered in relief with one out and the bases loaded, throwing 23 pitches and allowing one-third of an inning with one hit and one walk to tie the game.
At least Ham Deok-ju threw 11 pitches and retired the side in order for one inning, showing a good outing for the first time in a while. LG's closer Yoo Young-chan has been sidelined with an elbow olecranon stress fracture, and the team has suffered back-to-back walk-off losses. The back end of the bullpen is unstable. To win with a temporary starter and an uncertain bullpen, the lineup will have to explode.
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