Im Chan-kyu's Dominant Win in Game 2... The Key Is Innings Pitched
Im Chan-kyu (LG) and Eom Sang-baek (kt) will face off again in the fall baseball playoffs. On the rest day of the 10th, the professional baseball teams LG and kt announced these two pitchers as the starting pitchers for the 5th game of the Wild Card Series. The game will be held on the 11th at 6:30 PM at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul.
In the 2nd game of the Wild Card Series on the 6th, Im Chan-kyu came out on top. He secured his first postseason starting win with a stable pitching performance of 7 hits and 2 runs allowed (1 earned run) over 5⅓ innings. He was also named the Daily Most Valuable Player (MVP).
On the other hand, Eom Sang-baek gave up six hits and two walks over 4 innings and allowed 4 runs. He was unable to overcome the weak data against LG in the regular season, where he had 1 win, 1 loss, and an earned run average of 8.44. Im Chan-kyu was strong against kt in the regular season, with 3 wins, no losses, and an earned run average of 2.70.
The key is how long they can pitch. As the two teams have played four games in the Wild Card Series, both lineups have come alive. If it turns into a bullpen battle, kt has the advantage. Since it is a do-or-die 5th game, right-handed relief pitchers such as Kim Min, Kim Min-su, Son Dong-hyun, Go Young-pyo, and Woo Kyu-min can be fully deployed.
LG is likely to bring in Son Ju-young, the winning pitcher of the 3rd game, following Im Chan-kyu. He changed his role to the bullpen along with Eliezer Hernandez for the postseason. In the 3rd game on the 8th, he showed an outstanding relief performance, pitching 5⅓ innings with 2 hits, 7 strikeouts, and no runs allowed. If Son Ju-young holds up well in the middle, Kim Jin-sung, Yoo Young-chan, and Hernandez are expected to back him up.
In the batting lineup, the recovery of the main hitters' condition is considered a variable. LG's cleanup hitter Moon Bo-kyung has fallen into a slump with no hits in 15 at-bats. However, the other batters are evenly stepping up and maintaining the framework of aggressive baseball well. kt's star Mel Rojas Jr. has yet to record a single RBI. The offensive momentum is often interrupted, making scoring difficult.
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