'With' Kim Tae-hyung, the manager, praised him highly: "He seems to be at his absolute best right now, consistently throwing average velocities over 150 km/h." The story behind the thrilling 5-out perfect game [Jamsil]

*This content was translated by AI.

On the 15th at Jamsil Stadium. Lotte Giants vs. Doosan Bears game.

In the bottom of the 8th inning, with Lotte holding a razor-thin 6-5 lead, they brought in Kim Won-joong, who had previously served as a closer.

As soon as Kim Won-joong took the mound, he faced the leadoff batter, Park Chan-ho, and after a full-count battle extending to nine pitches, recorded an out on a fly ball to center field.

The next batter was Kim Ki-yeon. The Doosan bench opted for a pinch-hitting substitution. Pinch-hitter Kim In-tae was sent in. However, the first pitch, a curveball thrown by Kim Won-joong, unfortunately hit Kim In-tae on the leg, resulting in a hit-by-pitch. It was an unexpected hit-by-pitch on the very first pitch.

At that moment, the Lotte bench took action. They made the bold decision to remove Kim Won-joong. With five outs remaining, Manager Kim Tae-hyung's card was 'new closer' Choi Jun-yong.

And the strategic move worked perfectly. As soon as he took the mound, Choi Jun-yong handled Park Ji-hoon, who had been hitting three hits aggressively that day, with a fly ball to right field on the second pitch, and then retired the following batter, Jeong Soobin, on a foul pop fly to the second baseman.

Continuing to the bottom of the 9th inning, Doosan's final offensive opportunity. He retired leadoff batter Son Ah-seop with a swinging strikeout on the sixth pitch, then retired Park Jun-soon on a ground ball to the pitcher and Cameron with a swinging strikeout, respectively, closing out the game. Notably, the fastball used to retire Cameron at the end reached his season-best velocity of 155 km/h. A perfect 1 2/3-inning save.

In the end, the bold decision to remove Kim Won-joong proved to be the right call.

After this game, Choi Jun-yong's season statistics stand at 16 relief appearances, 1 win, 1 loss, 6 saves, 1 hold, and an ERA of 3.18. Over a total of 17 innings, he allowed 11 hits, issued 9 walks, recorded 18 strikeouts, gave up 6 runs (6 earned), and had 1 blown save, marking a WHIP of 1.18 and a batting average against of 0.180.

On the following day, the 16th, before the game against Doosan at Jamsil Stadium, Manager Kim met with reporters and spoke about the previous day's decision to bring in Choi Jun-yong, saying, "That was simply the manager's decision."

Manager Kim added, "I didn't think Kim Won-joong would be able to continue battling the next batter effectively. Even in the previous at-bat against Park Chan-ho, after getting the count, the pitches were not good. There were too many balls, so I had him ready immediately. That's why I brought in (Choi) Jun-yong. I thought if he got hit, it would be over, but fortunately, he pitched really well," he praised without holding back.

He continued, "I've been watching him for three years, and in my opinion, he seems to be at his absolute best right now. His average fastball velocity is consistently over 150 km/h. He is throwing with all his effort, has a certain level of confidence, and seems to be finding his rhythm," expressing his trust.

Meanwhile, on the 16th, Lotte set their starting lineup in the following order: Hwang Sung-bin (center fielder), Go Seung-min (second baseman), Reyes (designated hitter), Na Seung-yeop (first baseman), Han Dong-hee (third baseman), Yu Gangnam (catcher), Jeon Jun-woo (left fielder), Jeon Min-jae (shortstop), and Son Ho-young (right fielder). The starting pitcher was Park Se-woong.

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*This content was translated by AI.