Manager Park Jin-man personally reveals the background behind 'Closer Won Tae-in's surprise appearance in a 5-run lead game': "I wanted to secure the win decisively → KIA's lineup was no pushover"

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

Samsung Lions Manager Park Jin-man (50) directly explained the background behind his sudden decision to deploy 'domestic ace' Won Tae-in (26) as the closer in a situation where the team led by 5 runs.

On the 27th, Samsung secured an 8-3 comeback victory against the KIA Tigers in the second game of the Playoffs at Daegu Samsung Lions Park, resetting the series record to 1 win and 1 loss. The lineup's explosion, overcoming a scoreless first game (2 hits), and starting pitcher Ariel Hurdado's strong performance of allowing 2 runs over 6⅔ innings served as the foundation for the victory.

The biggest point of interest that day was pitcher Won Tae-in, who took the mound in the top of the 9th inning. In the top of the 9th, leading by 5 runs at 8-3, Won Tae-in took the mound despite it not being a save situation. He struck out Kim Sun-bin and Han Jun-su consecutively, among others, retiring the inning scoreless to put the final period on the game. It was an unconventional appearance for the ace, who had also been considered as a starting pitcher candidate for the third game.

In the official post-game interview, Manager Park Jin-man directly explained the reason for Won Tae-in's 9th-inning appearance, stating, "We wanted to finish the second game decisively and cleanly to prepare for the third game." He added, "We had been preparing for this from before. If the lead had been more than 5 runs, we would have used a different pitcher, but it was within the range of 5 runs or less." He further noted, "Since Tae-in has not pitched much in actual games recently, we also considered his feel when deploying him."

The resilience of the opposing KIA lineup and the injury absence of their primary closer Kim Jae-yoon were also reasons for the decisive move. Manager Park showed caution, stating, "KIA's lineup was no pushover either, so I thought we had to win decisively until the very end."

Won Tae-in's appearance made changes to the future starting rotation inevitable. Regarding whether he would start the third game, Manager Park firmly stated, "He will not start the third game." Concerning Won Tae-in's future utilization, he said, "We had been considering various plans even before entering the series," adding, "I will be able to tell you about the fourth game starter and so on after the third game is over."

Won Tae-in also said, "If the score difference had widened further, I probably would not have gone out, but I did not hear any specific instructions. I was just told to prepare according to the situation, and it seems the manager decided to put me in with a 5-run lead." He added, "Regardless of the role, if the team needs it, I must go out as a starter. I will be prepared to pitch according to the team's request."

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original