"Was Son Ju-young brought in for the 8th inning? It was a game that had to be won, but the flow required holding on," Yeom Kyung-yeop explained directly.

*This content was translated by AI.

LG Twins manager Yeom Kyung-yeop (58) directly explained the decision to bring in closer Son Ju-young (28) to pitch in the 8th inning during the previous day's game (21st).

Manager Yeom Kyung-yeop met with reporters on the 22nd ahead of the '2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League' home game against the Kiwoom Heroes at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Songpa-gu, Seoul, reflecting on the previous day's game.

Manager Yeom explained the background behind quickly bringing in closer Son Ju-young in the bottom of the 8th inning with a 5-2 lead, two outs, and runners on first and second, stating, "We intended to bring him in unconditionally," confirming his firm resolve.

Manager Yeom continued, "It was a game that had to be won," adding, "Perhaps yesterday's game was the most important match for the team to hold on. There are games where the team must hold on to survive the season, and yesterday was exactly that kind of flow." He further emphasized that Son Ju-young's appearance was an inevitable choice to preserve the overall momentum of the season, noting, "If such an important game is lost, the team's overall atmosphere inevitably sinks."

Regarding the start of Son Ju-young's consecutive appearances and multi-inning outings from this weekend, Manager Yeom Kyung-yeop diagnosed, "Fatigue that is not accumulated but is 'momentary fatigue' recovers much faster the next day. Since he has been resting continuously and then threw once, the accumulated fatigue level is not particularly high."

Manager Yeom repeatedly emphasized the importance of 'flow' in the overall season race. He stated, "If you cannot hold on during a flow that requires holding on, you fall in the standings; if you cannot push forward during a flow that requires winning, you get broken." He added, "I always emphasize to the players that they must focus more when the flow is good, and maintaining that flow for a long time is the skill of a strong team."

Especially regarding the team's recent rollercoaster performance of alternating wins and losses, he acknowledged it as an inevitable process given the current roster. Manager Yeom said, "Given our current roster and flow, it seems we have no choice but to go like this." He further added his conviction, "We are not in a position to sustain a winning streak, and experience shows that forcing greed in such situations leads to serious losing streaks. The coaching staff must strategically lose games 'well' to prevent overload and injuries while maintaining the flow."

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*This content was translated by AI.