*This content was translated by AI.
Despite the concern over the large number of pitches and the 8.37 ERA the previous day, the national team finished strongly. Park Young-hyun (23), who was in charge of KT Wiz's opening two consecutive wins, announced the secret of making a save for two consecutive days against his only natural enemy.
Park Young-hyun took the mound in the bottom of the ninth inning against the LG Twins in Jamsil on the 29th and secured KT's 6-5, one-run victory with one hit and no outs in one inning.
It was his second consecutive save. Park Young-hyun threw 34 pitches in one ⅔ inning against LG on the 28th, the opening day. It seemed difficult to take the mound on the 29th as he usually threw twice the number of pitches in one game, but Park Young-hyun himself took the mound.
The ball power remained despite the large number of pitches the day before. Park Young-hyun got a first-pitch hit by leadoff hitter Austin Dean in the bottom of the ninth inning with KT leading 6-5. But there was no shaking. Moon Bo-kyung was turned into a fly ball in left field, and Park Dong-won was struck out swinging after a video review of the check swing.
In the meantime, pinch runner Choi Won-young succeeded in stealing second base, but he finished the game by handling Moon Sung-joo's infield fly ball. Park Young-hyun, who met with reporters after the game, said, "Honestly, I didn't feel that hard when I threw yesterday (28th). I didn't know the number of pitches was 34. Originally, if you throw a lot, your appetite will disappear and you have to do it, but I ate more and rested more yesterday, so I was able to come out in good condition," he said.
The secret was boiling crab, a kind of seafood. Park Young-hyun said, "I went there with my friend because I heard it was famous, and it was really delicious. I don't know if it's in other areas, so I'm going to look for it," he said with a smile, adding, "I didn't feel bad when I woke up after eating like that. He said, "I felt heavy when warming up, but I didn't care about it on the mound." "The coach also told me to throw the ball at random because it's really good right now. I also threw a ball that I really liked, so I was confident that I wouldn't get hit today (29th)."
The Rookie of the Year award, which has stood out since its debut season, was also particularly weak against LG. Since his debut in the 2022 season, he has been the only natural enemy for Park Young-hyun with a total of 27 games, 2 wins, 5 losses, 6 saves and an 8.37 ERA.
Park Young-hyun said, "I don't have a good record against LG. "I wanted to do well against LG because I had a lot of home runs, hits, and blon saves, so I really wanted to do well against LG," he said. "I always felt like I couldn't throw when I met LG, so I prepared harder knowing that the opening game of this season was LG. But I feel really good to hold it like this. I liked my ball, but it's better because the team won," he said with a big smile.
Je Chun-mo (44), KT's first-team pitching coach, also played a big role. In fact, there was a lot of concern about Park Young-hyun before the season. At the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), which ended not long ago, the maximum speed did not exceed 145 kilometers per hour and the performance was poor.
Many people were worried that they might have lost their stamina by throwing more than 69 innings for three consecutive seasons. Park Young-hyun said, "Actually, I don't know either. I didn't get arrested on the WBC, but I feel like KT came up here, and coach Je Chun-mo has fixed my bad part after returning from the WBC. That's why I hit it off so well," he said.
He said, "There was a lot of power in the WBC. As a result, I couldn't use all my arm muscles and felt like my arm swing was coming out short. After my coach told me to pay attention to it, I felt much better and I felt that I could control my ball well. I was glad that I found my balance, maybe that's why I had a good restraint," he added.
KT also started the season in a good mood with a revived guardian deity. This year, KT will meet strong teams from the opening, including last year's winner LG Twins, the runner-up Hanwha Eagles, and this year's favorite Samsung Lions. Rather, he took the victory in a rough schedule, and his momentum increased significantly.
Park Young-hyun said, "I think the opening game is the most important game at the start of the season, but I'm looking forward to this season because I got off to such a good start. I feel good because I think the team's morale has risen more," he said with a smile.
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*This content was translated by AI.
