Sangmu also gave up, but returned to the first team in 26 days → 8th inning tie-breaking shot → 2nd team in one day! The head coach's sincerity toward Kim Jin-wook is not going to work…

Jul 09, 2025

Lotte-KT match held at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on the 12th. Kim Jin-wook, who allowed six runs until the second inning, is coming down the mound after the inning. Suwon = Reporter Jung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025.6.12/

"Even if the ball is bad, there are times when it works...(Kim)Jinwook is so bad right now."

Manager Kim Tae-hyung smiles and lets go of it. But even he sometimes lets out a deep sigh.

Lotte Giants eliminated Kim Jin-wook and Koo Seung-min from the first division on the 9th. Instead, he posted veteran left-hander Shim Jae-min and rookie Lee Young-jae.

Coach Kim Tae-hyung, who met before the game, sighed when Kim Jin-wook was mentioned.

"It's not a problem, but yesterday's four consecutive breaking balls is a bit of a problem. You can't do anything if you don't want to."

Kim Jin-wook was registered in the first team the day before. It was his first return to the first team in 26 days since June 12.

Lotte-Samsung match held at Lions Park in Daegu on the 27th. Kim Jin-wook allowed a two-run shot to Diaz with two outs and first base in the bottom of the seventh inning. Daegu = Reporter Jung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025.5.27/

However, he was eliminated from the first team in a day. Kim Jin-wook took the mound in the top of the eighth inning with a 5-3 lead in Game 1 of the final series of the first half against the Doosan Bears, but allowed a two-run tie home run to Doosan's Jake Cave. Kim Sang-soo, who took the mound afterwards, allowed the game to turn around, and Lotte eventually lost 5-8.

Kim Jin-wook even gave up the opportunity to join the Armed Forces Sports Unit to be with head coach Kim Tae-hyung. It was good up to three games at the beginning of the season, but the slump has been prolonged since then.

The trust of the head coach has also grown. Initially, Lotte considered Kim Jin-wook as the starting pitcher on the day, but Hong Min-ki was better due to his current condition. And Hong Min-ki pitched well with one run in five innings. On the other hand, Kim Jin-wook failed to catch an out count and only gave up a tie-breaking home run before deciding to go to the second division.

Lotte-Samsung match held at Daegu Lions Park on the 19th. Kim Jin-wook, who allowed two home runs in the second inning, is disappointed. Daegu = Reporter Jeong Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025.4.19/

Cave is a batter who showed a big difference this season with OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 0.901 against right-handed pitchers and 0.661 against left-handed pitchers (as of the 9th). However, Cave led his team to victory by shooting consecutive home runs against Lotte, which shot him with left-handed pitchers such as Kim Jin-wook in the eighth inning and Song Jae-young in the ninth inning.

Manager Kim Tae-hyung said of Shim Jae-min and Lee Young-jae, `Currently, there are no right-handed pitchers in the second division. Shim Jae-min has been throwing steadily, and Lee Young-jae also has a good evaluation now.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.