Kiwoom Heroes finishing pitcher Kim Jae-woong showed a perfect pitch to lead the team to victory.
In the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League Hanwha Eagles match held at Gocheok Sky Dome on the 2nd, Kim Jae-woong took the mound in the top of the 9th inning against the Hanwha Eagles 6-6 and recorded 3 strikeouts and no runs in 1 inning. Kim Jae-woong won his first relief victory of the season with his team’s 7-6 victory at the end of the 9th inning. Kiwoom was the 3rd player in KBO history to win all of the opening two consecutive games.
Kiwoom allowed a turnaround with 3 runs that started with an error in the top of the 8th inning when they were leading 4-3 that day. Kiwoom, who tied the score at 6-6 right away at the end of the 8th inning, desperately needed a good pitch from the bullpen in the 9th inning to win, but Kim Jae-woong played that role better than anyone else and brought the victory.
Kim Jae-woong got on the mound in the top of the 9th inning and struck out Noh Su-gwang on a swing. Then, Eun-won Jeong, who had been hit the previous day (1st), turned all 3 pitches into a swing and showed off the power of striking out 3 pitches. Even Noh Si-hwan, who was in good shape with 3 hits that day, came down the mound while striking out with a high fastball on the 3rd pitch.
On this day, Kim Jae-woong’s highest speed was 143 km. He is not one of the fastest closers. According to Stattis, his average fastball speed last year was 140.8 km. He is lower than last year’s league average speed (144 km). Nevertheless, he contributed to Kiwoom’s postseason miracle with 3 wins, 2 losses, 27 holds, 13 saves, and an earned run average of 2.01 in 65 games last year. 메이저사이트
In particular, the double play in the third game of the playoffs gave goosebumps. Being able to prevent a tight game in the 9th inning even with a slow speed and the courage to throw oneself on a bunt ball in a safe 1st and 2nd base crisis all come from Kim Jae-woong’s thick guts. Kim Jae-woong had only two balls out of 12 pitches in the game on the 2nd. It is a strong heart that can attack the strike zone even in situations where it is not possible to concede.