The ERA 7.50 side arm that Lotte gave up, stands tall in the winning team in just 4G! How did you fall for the head coach

*This content was translated by AI.

LG Twins manager Yeom Kyung-yeop (58) predicted Woo Kang-hoon (24), a sixth-year professional, as a must-win team just four games after the opening.

Woo Kang-hoon is a right-handed sidearm who joined the Lotte Giants as the fourth in the fifth round of the second round of the 2021 KBO Rookie Draft after graduating from Hope Daecho-Masong Middle School. He only recorded a 7.50 ERA in four games in the first team due to the ball control difficulties that continued since his debut. In the end, Lotte gave up Woo Kang-hoon in March 2024 for a one-on-one trade with Son Ho-young (32).

LG also still had unstable ball control with 5.06 walks per nine innings until last year. Even though he started the season in the first team, he was busy disappearing before the first half was over. However, this year, it was evaluated that something has changed since the spring camp. In the exhibition game, he also struck out three in four ⅓ innings in two games without four outs and won a spot in the opening entry.

The momentum continued into the regular season. It was unusual from the first game of the season. Woo Kang-hoon took the mound in the bottom of the eighth inning when LG was losing 5-11 against the KT Wiz in Jamsil on March 28 and struck out Jang Sung-woo swinging. He grounded out Heo Kyung-min with three pitches and struck out Han Seung-taek once again. It was LG's only three-and-out inning on the day when he was beaten by 18 hits.

The match against KIA in Jamsil on the 1st, which was his second appearance, was an exclamation mark for LG fans who were uncertain. Woo Kang-hoon, who took the mound in the top of the eighth inning with LG leading 4-1, threw a fastball of up to 154 kilometers per hour and struck out Jung Hyun-chang swinging. The two subsequent batters also grounded out with seven balls to secure their first hold since their debut.

With his amazing performance, the head coach finally made clear Woo Kang-hoon as a must-win team. Coach Yeom, who met with reporters before the game on the 2nd, said, "Woo Kang-hoon is now a complete winning team. "In my head, Woo Kang-hoon came into the top three (of the bullpen pitchers)." "The overall pitching mechanism was concisely summarized, such as shortening the movement of pulling the arm back. It is only when the submarine pitcher is weak against left-handed hitters. Now (Woo) Kang-hoon is trying to use it regardless of the left and right hitters," he said with a smile.

This day is also a new must-win group that repays faith. Woo Kang-hoon came up in the eighth inning for the second consecutive day and made three perfect innings. Harold Castro and Kim Do-young were handled with three balls, and Na Sung-beom struck out swinging with eight balls after a full count. The second hold of the season.

Woo Kang-hoon, who met after the game, said, "It's the first time I've played in such a tight game in the first team. He focused on his recovery after yesterday's game (1st) because of his continuous pitching. Fortunately, I was in good shape during bullpen pitching, so I gained confidence," he said.

The match against left-handed hitter Na Sung-bum was the highlight. He threw a series of fast balls more than 150 kilometers per hour toward his body and caught two strikes. In response, Na Sung-beom continued to fight by clearing it and went all the way to the full count. However, for the first time, he dropped a curve on the low side of his body, making Na Sung-bum's bat spin in vain.

Woo Kang-hoon said, "Today's (2nd) pitch was thrown more focused on balls that can be thrown well. When I struck out the last time, I wanted to be a fastball at first. I felt like the timing of the fastball was getting better and better, and the batters seemed to be more and more in front of them. "I made up my mind with the last decision because the curve was good today, and I think the ball with confidence worked well," he explained.

He said, "I'm not that scared. It was originally stronger for left-handed hitters. It doesn't matter if the score difference is large or small. Rather, hitters come in more concentrated when the score difference is small, but now they enjoy it more. It happens to be my grandfather's birthday today, so it's better. I think he'll like it if I call him because he likes baseball so much that he looks for other games when his grandson doesn't play."

I felt more responsible than burdened by the new position of must-win group. Woo Kang-hoon said, "I've prepared hard this season, and I'm grateful to the coach for giving me a chance so quickly. I try to focus more so that I can use myself in tighter situations and try to do better. He also expressed his strong ambition, saying, "If I go to the mound in the future, I will work harder so that the fans can enjoy the Twins game more and return home."

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*This content was translated by AI.