"Invincible bullpen → starters are at the bottom," Lee Sung-yong's cool gaze said, "I think we need to play bullpen baseball again this year" [the scene of Jamsil]

*This content was translated by AI.

"I think we'll have to play bullpen baseball again this year."

The team is tied for first place and is showing tremendous firepower, including second place in the team batting average (0.289) and joint first place in scoring (73 points), but the head coach calmly diagnosed the reality. This is because the starting lineup has lost a lot of weight.

SSG manager Lee Soo-yong (55) met with reporters ahead of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League away game against the LG Twins at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Songpa-gu, Seoul on the 10th and emphasized the importance of managing the bullpen.

The powerful mound is still there, and the strength of the batters has become much stronger. This is why SSG tied for first place with KT Wiz with 7 wins and 3 losses.

However, if you look closely, you can't just laugh. This is because the starter has yet to find stability, although he does not know when to ride a downward trend, as the adage "hit is a cycle."

Drew Anderson (Detroit), who competed with Cody Ponce (Toronto) for the league's best starting position last year, left, and even Kim Kwang-hyun, who gave him 10 wins, left due to injury. Rookie Kim Min-joon, who was expected to secure a starting rotation, will also take more time to return from injury.

The team's ERA (ERA) is 4.10, ranking second after the NC Dinos (3.13), so there seems to be no big problem, but the bullpen is overwhelming at 2.78, while the starter is in eighth place at 5.44. When going to the bullpen fight, it is certainly solidifying its winning spirit, and even if the starters are sluggish, the game is often turned over by the strength of the batters, so the problem is not highlighted much.

One good thing is that I was able to save Noh Kyung-eun and Cho Byung-hyun, who participated in the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC). There were many days when they won by a big margin, so there were many days when they didn't have to take the mound. Of the 10 games, Noh Kyung-eun played three and Cho Byung-hyun played four. Considering that the pitchers played in 77 games and 80 ⅓ and 69 games and 67 innings, respectively, last year, it can be seen that they are starting at a leisurely pace at the beginning of the season.

In the match against the Hanwha Eagles on the 8th, starting with Kim Min-joon (1 ⅔ inning), Lee Noh Kyung-eun and Cho Byung-hyun (one inning) were all mobilized, starting with Choi Min-joon, who stepped down with one out in the fifth inning.

Since rain was predicted across the country on the 9th, all the must-win teams were used even in the situation where it was falling. Manager Lee Sung-yong said, "We are managing bullpen pitchers as much as possible. I think we'll have to play bullpen baseball again this year. So I keep saying that starting is very important," he said. "That day, there was a rain forecast for the next day, and our bullpen should not rest too much. Until the day before yesterday, it was a four-day break. Then, I was thinking of releasing it from the sixth inning a little faster because the pitching balance would also be problematic. If I narrow down the score, I thought there was a lot of probability to score in the second half, so I pushed ahead," he explained.

The best thing is to be able to operate the must-win group in situations calculated without difficulty. To do this, the starter must play his part. This is because the sluggish start inevitably leads to the overload of the bullpen.

Therefore, the role of first starter Mitch White, who will take the mound on this day, is important. Due to the rain that fell the day before, the day will be held in chilly weather with temperatures down to 8 degrees Celsius. In cold weather, the bodies of batters are not easy to move. Can White, who uses fastballs as his main weapon, ease the burden on the bullpen with an ace-like pitch.

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*This content was translated by AI.