*This content was translated by AI.
"Chance for first and second base."
The first thing that comes to mind is a send bunt. If you are on the second and third bases with one out, you can score with sacrifice fly, infield grounder, wild pitch or fastball, even if it is not a hit. But what if the batter is the center lineup or a big shot? If you're a batter who's been getting along well recently or has been sluggish? The head coach has no choice but to think about it.
A similar situation occurred in the two KBO League games on the 11th. The choices were different, and the results were mixed.
# Daejeon Hanwha Life Ball Park where Hanwha Eagles and KIA Tigers faced off. Hanwha led 3-0 with two runs in the first inning and one run in the third inning amid good pitching by starter Wang Yancheng. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Kang Baek-ho and Chae Eun-sung hit back-to-back hits from opposing starter Lee Eui-ri, and they had an additional chance to score first and second bases with no outs.
The next batter is Noh Si-hwan (26). With a batting average of 0.167 until the previous day, the batting order changed from 4th to 6th for the first time this season. His first at-bat in the second inning was a flyout to center field. After his professional debut, Noh Si-hwan's record of sacrifice bunt stopped at one in 2019 and one in 2020. A TV commentator said, "I will not give a sacrifice bunt sign to Noh Si-hwan."
However, the Hanwha bench's choice was a "bunt." Noh Si-hwan bunt from the first pitch and immediately rolled the ball in front of the pitcher. Thanks to the successful sacrifice bunt, Hanwha had one out and runners on the second and third bases. Kang Baek-ho, the third baseman, was out when Ha made a surprise bunt in front of the pitcher, but Heo In-seo's hit to the center field scored an additional point. Although he lost 5-6 in the top of the eighth inning by giving up five runs due to bullpen difficulties.
Hanwha manager Kim Kyung-moon (68) admitted to the reporters that he ordered Noh Si-hwan to bunt ahead of the KIA match on the 12th, the next day. He said, "(Roh) Si-hwan will be sad, but the team will also be sick when he doesn't," adding, "It's good to continue batting fourth, but it's good to go six times, make sacrifices, and baseball is like that. I didn't get hit, so I purposely did it once," he explained.
# On the same day, Suwon KT Wiz Park. The Doosan Bears, who were dragged 0-5 by the KT Wiz, recovered two runs in the top of the seventh inning and chased by 4-5 with Ahn Jae-seok's two-run timely hit in the top of the eighth inning. The chance to get first and second bases with no outs led to Park Joon-soon's hit to the right. Yang Eui-ji (39), the fourth batter, entered the batter's box. Then, KT threw a precipitation that put closer Park Young-hyun on the mound.
Even the come-from-behind runner is out. Will it be a strong ball or a bunt. These were the things to consider.
Yang Eui-ji also suffered from a batting slump of 0.108 until the previous day. There has been no sacrifice bunt success for five seasons since 2020, when he was in the NC Dinos. In the previous at-bat, he hit a long ball (lefty double) in the top of the seventh inning after hitting a ground ball and striking out to second base. Park Young-hyun had two hits in eight at-bats (0.250 batting average) and one home run.
Yang Eui-ji's bat stood upright. The first pitch watched the strike (131km/h changeup) in the middle. The fastball of 151 kilometers on two pitches is foul. The low 150km fastball outside the third pitch is a swing and miss. It was a three-pitch strikeout. Doosan later failed to score additional points after Cameron struck out and Yang Seok-hwan stepped down with a fly to center field.
It was a moment when Kim Min-seok hit a hit in front of right field and sprinted to make a double, and Ahn Jae-seok clenched his fist and cheered after hitting a timely hit. Doosan, which gave up one more point in the bottom of the eighth inning, eventually lost 4-6 and failed to win three consecutive games.
If Yang Eui-ji succeeded in a sacrifice bunt and became second and third base with one out, how would the game go. If Noh Si-hwan had ordered a strong ball and a long shot came out, could he have shaken off KIA's last-minute pursuit.
The general public also agonizes between "belief" and "practice" when it is a moment of choice related to others. Furthermore, in a world of competition where the results are immediately apparent. As manager Kim Kyung-moon said on the 11th after lowering Noh Si-hwan to No. 6 for the first time in the season and excluding rookie Oh Jae-won from the starting line-up, it seems that "baseball is never easy."
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*This content was translated by AI.
