"I should have made the change when An Hyun-min was up to bat..." Park Jin-man's self-criticism over pitcher substitution makes late-game rally all the more regrettable

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

"I missed the timing for the substitution."

A narrow one-run defeat left much to be desired. The manager first blamed himself.

Park Jin-man (50), Manager of the Samsung Lions, spoke first about the pitcher substitutions while summarizing the game at an official press conference after Game 1 of the 2026 KBO League Korea Series against the KT Wiz held on the 3rd at Suwon KT Wiz Park.

He self-criticized, saying, "I should have made the change before Choi Won-tae (29, Samsung) allowed five runs, when An Hyun-min was at bat," and added, "After falling behind 0-3, we took a two-run home run from An Hyun-min, and it seems we were pushed back significantly in the early momentum. I should have made the substitution one step earlier; that aspect left me with regrets in this game."

Choi Won-tae, who started the game, wavered from the first inning. Starting with a leadoff single to center field by Choi Won-jun, he gave up a walk to An Hyun-min and a double down the left-center gap to Hilliard, allowing two early runs. With two outs, Samsung second baseman Ryu Ji-hyuk dropped Kim Sang-soo's grounder (recorded as an infield hit), allowing one more run.

The bottom of the second inning appeared stable with three consecutive strikeouts. However, in the bottom of the third, after Choi Won-tae allowed a double to center field to leadoff hitter Kim Min-hyuk, he surrendered a two-run home run to left field to An Hyun-min. The score widened significantly to 0-5. The Samsung bench then removed Choi Won-tae and brought on Yang Chang-seop. Choi Won-tae pitched only 43 balls over two innings, allowing five hits (one home run) and five runs before being taken out of the game.

Because Samsung's lineup mounted a fierce rally in the latter half of the game, the large early deficit left even greater regret. Trailing 0-8 in the top of the seventh, Koo Ja-yuk's two-run home run served as the signal, and with an RBI double by Lee Jae-hyun among other hits, they recovered five runs. In the top of the eighth, a timely hit by Kim Seong-yoon and a passed ball added two more points, closing the gap to 7-8. However, in the top of the ninth, three consecutive batters struck out against KT closer Park Young-hyun, and Samsung ultimately failed to turn the game around.

Manager Park Jin-man spoke of hope amidst the regret. Manager Park said, "We were trailing heavily for a long time, but we still managed to close the gap from 0-8 to 7-8 against KT's key pitching staff. Although we lost the game, there was still something gained," and expressed optimism by adding, "Because we created an atmosphere where we could turn the game around at any point in the mid-to-late stages of future games as well, there were positive aspects."

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original