He was caught walking and walking again at the critical moment…Yoon Young-chul, who returned, allowed two runs in four innings, is on the verge of losing four games of the season (Gwangju Field)
May 14, 2025
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Yoon Young-chul started in Game 5 of the season between the Lotte Giants and the Lotte Giants at Gwangju Kia Champions Field on the 14th, recording 69 pitches, four hits, three strikeouts, and two runs in three innings. He mostly threw fastballs (37), mixing sliders (16), changeups (6), and curves (3). The maximum speed of the fastball was 145 kilometers.
There was a desperate need for a rebound. Yoon Young-chul was selected as the fourth starter early from the spring camp and prepared for the season, but he struggled in a swamp of sluggishness. He had five ⅔ innings and an ERA of 15.88 while losing only three games before being notified of his second-tier trip on the 19th of last month. While striking out two, he had nine more walks, and WHIP (the number of on-base allowed per inning) was naturally very high at 4.24.
KIA filled the vacancy with Hwang Dong-ha while Yoon Young-chul was spending time reorganizing in the second division. However, on the 8th, Hwang Dong-ha crossed a crosswalk near Incheon's away accommodation The car accident twisted my mind. He was diagnosed with lumbar vertebrae No. 2 and No. 3 transverse process fracture and suddenly left. KIA decided to fill the vacancy by putting Yoon Young-chul back in the first division as soon as possible.
KIA manager Lee Bum-ho said, "(Yoon) Young-chul should throw well because Dong-ha (Hwang) was injured before the game. I'm thinking about 70 pitches. Because we need to bring it up quickly to 70 to 80 pitches. Even if it's hard in the beginning, I'm going to keep the number of pitches and make them throw. Today's game will be important to Young-chul, but it is also important to lead the inning as a starter in the future. I think we should let the number of pitches fill enough for one game today."
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However, in the top of the fourth inning, he lost another point as he failed to cross the wall between Reyes and Jeon Jun-woo. In the end, four pitches caught the ankle again. He got a hit to the right by Reyes, the leadoff hitter, and walked Jeon Joon-woo to first and second bases with no outs. Na Seung-yeop then hit a timely hit to the right side of left field, making it 0-1.
Yoon Young-chul was shaken greatly by walking Yoo Kang-nam in the continued crisis with no outs and runners on the first and second bases. KIA operated the bullpen to prepare for Yoon Young-chul's further collapse. With the bases loaded with no outs, Son Ho-young allowed a sacrifice fly to center field to become 0-2, but Yoon Young-chul tagged out Na Seung-yeop, the third baseman who was rushing home when Park tried to bunt with one out and runners on the first and third bases. With two outs and runners on the first and second bases, Jang Doo-sung ended his mission by striking out swinging.
Yoon Young-chul, who threw 69 pitches until the fourth inning, was replaced by left-hander Kim Ki-hoon ahead of the defense in the fifth inning. It was after almost filling the 70 pitches predicted by coach Lee. Yoon Young-chul was on the verge of losing four games of the season as KIA's batting lineup struggled to target Lotte's starting pitcher Han Hyun-hee.
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.