Kim Tae-hyung: "Received reports that Kim Won-jung's back was not in good condition → Decided to let him go up first and then judge"

*This content was translated by AI.

Lotte Giants relief pitcher Kim Won-jung (33) was found to have already been in poor back condition before taking the mound the previous day (the 18th).

Kim Tae-hyung (58), Lotte's manager, met with reporters on the 19th ahead of the away game against the Kiwoom Heroes at Gocheok Sky Dome in Guro-gu, Seoul, for the '2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League', and shared details about Kim Won-jung's condition and the situation at the time after the pitcher voluntarily left the mound due to back pain the previous day.

Here is what happened. On the 18th, with both teams tied 2-2 in the bottom of the 10th inning, Kim Won-jung took the mound in place of Park Jung-min. Kim cleanly retired the SSG lineup of Guillermo Heredia, Ko Myung-jun, and Choi Ji-hoon with three consecutive outs. He also took the mound in the bottom of the 11th extra inning. He recorded an out by catching top-of-the-order batter Cho Hyung-woo in a right-field fly ball and continued pitching against Park Sung-han.

However, during the at-bat against Park Sung-han, with a 1-ball-1-strike count, Kim suddenly stopped pitching. Clutching his left side with a pained expression, Kim requested the trainer to visit the mound. After discussing his condition, he was ultimately replaced by Jeong Cheol-won and finished his appearance for the day. It was a moment when the hearts of the bench and fans sank at the sudden complaint of pain from the closer. Jeong Cheol-won, who quickly took over the mound, retired both Park Sung-han and Jung Jun-jae with ground balls, ending the game in a 2-2 draw. Kim Won-jung's final stats for the previous day (the 18th) were 1 1/3 innings scoreless.

Regarding this, Manager Kim Tae-hyung revealed, "We received reports beforehand that his back was already bothering him even before (Kim Won-jung) went up to the mound." He explained the tense background at the time, noting that although they knew his condition was not perfect, they decided to "let him go up first and have him come down immediately if he felt worse," considering the flow of the game and the player's sense of responsibility. Fortunately, it appears he avoided a major injury, but he will likely be held back from making another strenuous appearance immediately.

However, Kim Won-jung was not removed from the roster. Lotte is expected to carefully monitor Kim Won-jung's recovery progress for the time being and formulate a bullpen usage plan.

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*This content was translated by AI.