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| Lotte-KT match held at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on the 12th. Park Young-hyun, who took the mound in the top of the 10th inning, is regretful after giving up four consecutive walks and losing a point. Suwon = Reporter Jung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025.6.12/ |
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Why didn't we replace Park Young-hyun.
KT Wiz lost 7-12 after extra time in the final game of the three consecutive games during the week against the Lotte Giants at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 12th.
It was a painful defeat. Ahn Hyun-min's two home runs were hit until the second inning, leading 6-0. However, even with 6 points on his back, the trusted starter So Hyung-joon suddenly showed difficulty in the third inning and began to give the score, and eventually lost to a 6-7 reversal.
What was comforting was that hitters in the ninth inning brought the game to extra time by destroying the opponent's closer Kim Won-joong. It would have been nice if the game ended in the ninth inning, but the flow came over to KT.
KT showed its will to win. At the top of the 10th inning, Park Young-hyun finished the game. With Lotte also using Kim Won-joong, if it passed the top of the 10th inning safely, it was possible to win the game in the bottom of the 10th inning considering the situation of Lotte's team that used all the reliable bullpen.
But what's wrong with this. Park Young-hyun, who believed, was shaken. After one out, he gave up a walk to Jang Doo-sung, who showed a good batting sense on the day.
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| Lotte-KT match held at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on the 12th. In the top of the 10th inning, first baseman Jang Doo-sung advanced to second base when the check ball was taken out of the batter's box with one out and runners on first base. However, he was injured in the situation and is being transported by ambulance. Suwon = Reporter Jung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025.6.12/ |
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And an unexpected accident happened. Park Young-hyun sprayed the ball to the first base to check the fast-paced Jang Doo-sung, which hit the right side of Jang Doo-sung, who was returning by sliding. When the ball fell after hitting his body, Jang Doo-sung ran to second base, but he didn't look good. And Jang Doo-sung, who arrived at second base, collapsed as it was. He spat out blood from his mouth. Clearly, there was no near-mouth collision. It was an emergency. An ambulance came in, and Jang Doo-sung was rushed.
Park Young-hyun also watched the whole scene. Park Young-hyun is also not a machine, although he is said to be a cool-headed finisher who does not shake under any circumstances. He was bound to be mentally shaken by the injury of his teammate who was hit by the ball he threw.
Of course, it was right for a professional player to focus on pitching even in that difficult situation. However, Ko Seung-min, Reyes, and Jeon Jun-woo gave up four consecutive walks to donate the winning run.
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| Lotte-KT match held at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on the 12th. catcher Jang Sung-woo is regretful after missing Jeon Min-jae's ordinary fly with two outs in the top of the 10th inning. Suwon = Reporter Jung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025.6.12/ |
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The game wasn't over. One point is enough to catch up with. Therefore, the KT bench could not easily remove Park Young-hyun. It would have been a wish to prevent the inning by one point. Park Young-hyun struck out Kim Min-sung. And he induced Jeon Min-jae to fly in the infield. It fell between the pitcher and the catcher. A ball that catcher Jang Sung-woo can easily handle. However, veteran Jang Sung-woo missed this ball. a futile error. It was two outs, so he ran all the runners, and two more points were added. In fact, it was a moment when the atmosphere tilted toward Lotte.
Park Young-hyun has thrown as many as 35 balls so far. He was the closing pitcher who threw 22 pitches the previous day. In fact, the number of pitches has been increasing for more than one inning in the past after Son Dong-hyun's injury. It is said that Park Young-hyun's style is to increase the physical strength of the game by throwing the ball, but considering the continuous pitching, the number of pitches, and the atmosphere of the game that has already been passed, it was the timing of replacement. Not only these reasons, but also Park Young-hyun's mental care, which was shaken by the opponent's injury, seemed necessary.
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| Lotte-KT match held at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on the 12th. Park Young-hyun, who took the mound in the top of the 10th inning, is regretful after giving up four consecutive walks and losing a point. Suwon = Reporter Jung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025.6.12/ |
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However, the KT bench left Park Young-hyun intact. And Park Young-hyun even allowed a timely hit to Son Ho-young and a surprise bunt hit to Kim Dong-hyuk. When he threw the ball to Kim Dong-hyuk last time, his fastball speed dropped to 144km.
Only then did KT drop Park Young-hyun and put Lee Jung-hyun in. 5 runs on 38 pitches. Although it was an earned run, it was a game that could be a fatal hit for the pitcher leading the save.
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| Lotte-KT match held at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on the 12th. In the bottom of the third inning, Ahn Hyun-min, with two outs and runners on the first and third bases, hit a three-run shot following the previous at-bat two-run shot. Director Lee Kang-chul is greeting Ahn Hyun-min with applause. Suwon = Reporter Jung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025.6.12/ |
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Park Young-hyun threw the ball hard, sweating profusely, to the extent that strangers could say "Isn't it a punishment?" Of course, it's hard to even imagine such a penalty in recent baseball. There was no reason for coach Lee Kang-chul to throw Park Young-hyun, who was struggling.
Then, did he calculate that if he blocks up to three points, he can do it in the attack in the bottom of the 10th inning. In that situation, you can't help but wonder why Park Young-hyun threw up to 38.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
