SSG Landers coach Kim Won-hyung pointed out the cause of right-handed closing pitcher Seo Jin-yong’s slump and came up with a solution.
Seo Jin-yong bowed his head against Doosan in Jamsil on the 14th, the previous game. It’s because he couldn’t protect the victory right in front of him. He picked up his fourth blown save of the season.
He went on the mound in the bottom of the 9th inning with a 2-0 lead. A hit was allowed to leadoff hitter Yang Seok-hwan. Afterwards, Yang Eui-ji got on base with a ball that fit his body. He induced pitcher Lee Yu-chan to hit a ground ball and reached first and second bases with one out. A wild pitch resulted in 2nd and 3rd bases with one out. Then, on Kang Seung-ho’s ground ball, third base runner Tae-geun Kim scored, making the score 1-2. With 2 outs and 3rd base, he gave up a walk to Kim In-tae. When Kim In-tae’s stolen base put the runners on second and third base with two outs, Park Gye-beom was automatically caught on an intentional fourth pitch. There was another wild pitch. The score was tied 2-2. Pinch hitter Heo Gyeong-min hit a walk-off hit at the right time, resulting in a painful 2-3 comeback loss. 스포츠토토
Seo Jin-yong is visibly shaken in September. He struggled in 5 games, 5⅓ innings, with 2 losses, 1 save, an ERA of 8.44, and 3 blown saves. There were no problems until mid-August. While making 34 saves, he did not record a single blown save, showing off his fierceness.
On the 27th of last month, he made his first blown save against Doosan. The score was tied after allowing one run in the 9th inning. SSG won 8-5 at the end of the 10th inning, and Seo Jin-yong became the winning pitcher. But even after that, hunting continues.
Coach Kim Won-hyung mentioned Seo Jin-yong’s name ahead of the away game against LG in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on the 16th. First of all, recalling the match against Doosan on the 14th, he said, “That may be true, but from a team perspective, it was a very big game.”
Coach Kim said, “Even if I got a hit (9th inning), I think it would have been better to have a match with Kim In-tae on third base with 2 outs. We had a difficult fight and ended up sending him out on a walk.” He added, “If there is nothing to talk about on the bench, you have to fight.” However, on the mound, the pitcher must have thought that this batter was having a hard time, so he made a difficult mix of balls. If he got a hit, the fact that the score was tied must have been very significant.”
He continued, “If you think about it the other way around, the moment this batter gets on base and then steals base and gets to second or third base, there’s a come-from-behind runner, so the next batter feels bigger. Even if that’s the case, it’s better to compete with the batter at bat when there are only runners tied (on base). “It’s better. We should have achieved the result there (in the match with Kim In-tae), but that’s the most disappointing thing,” he added.
What is the problem with Seo Jin-yong’s sluggish performance? Coach Kim said, “There are a lot of missed throws, especially forkballs. Even when it’s a 2-strike no-ball or a 1-ball, you throw it in the middle and hit the batter. That day (14th), I also threw the ball in the middle to Yang Seok-hwan with a 1-strike no-ball.” He explained, “I think it’s physically difficult. I can’t ignore that either,” and added, “In the past, even if I threw it in the middle, there was power at the end of the ball, so there were more misses than straight hits.”
I plan to help you get through the crisis better. Coach Kim said, “When we need to boldly win, I think we need to move a little more proactively from the bench. We want to talk strongly to the players and create an atmosphere in which catchers and pitchers can play aggressively.” “I will tell you to do it,” he said.