Park Myung-geun, a 19-year-old rookie who has the absolute trust of LG Twins manager Yoon Kyung-yeop, faced the biggest test of his career.
Park entered the game in relief in the eighth inning of a 2-3 loss to the Doosan Bears in Jamsil on July 17. LG was trailing 1-3 in the bottom 먹튀검증 of the fourth inning when Heo Do-hwan hit an RBI single to pull within one run. The LG mound had been shutting down the Doosan bats since the fourth inning, and Yoon pulled out the youngest member of the bullpen, Park Myung-geun, in the eighth inning. Despite his inexperience, the manager believed that if he could pitch one solid inning as usual, the bats would win their sixth straight game and gain a foothold in the top spot.
But Park Myung-geun’s confidence was shattered. The first pitch he threw to the leadoff hitter, Kim Jae-hwan, was a double that landed just in front of the right-center field fence. It was a big hit that could have been a home run, and Park looked shaken. Doosan showed its intention to score more runs by replacing Kim Jae-hwan with Cho Su-hyung as the pinch-hitter.
Park kept Cho at second base by getting the next batter, Yang Seok-hwan, to ground out to shortstop. He then seemed to settle down. With the bases loaded and two outs, Yeom ordered Yang to hit an automatic double play. He decided it would be better to face Kim Dae-hyun and Kang Seung-ho.
Here, Park Myung-geun’s delivery suddenly faltered. The first and second curveballs he threw to Kim were both balls, and the third was a strike, but the fourth and fifth fastballs were back-to-back balls, sending Kim out. The same was true for Kang Seung-ho in the next inning. He got off to a bad start with two pitches, and eventually gave up a push ball to make it 2-4.
Yoon pulled Park Myung-geun and brought Lee Jung-yong to the mound. Lee has had his ups and downs this year, but Yeom has labeled him as a must-win pitcher. The plan was to try to fight back without giving up any more runs, but it didn’t work. Lee committed a wild pitch against the first batter he faced, Park Kye-beom, bringing up Park Myung-geun’s catcher, Yang Ji, who gave up a two-run double to extend Park’s lead to four. The 2-7 deficit was enough to put the game out of reach for LG. The four runs in the eighth inning felt even more painful considering Kim Hyun-soo hit a two-out RBI triple in the bottom of the ninth.
It’s safe to say that Park Myung-geun has been one of Yeom’s most trusted pitchers this year. Park was drafted by LG with the 27th pick in the third round of the 2023 Korean Baseball Organization draft out of Laogo. He stood out as a gutsy pitcher who could throw strikes even at a young age. 토토꽁포인트 It’s no wonder he caught the eye of his manager, as he pitched 25 games in nearly two months, from April 14 against Jamsil Doosan to April 16 against Jamsil Doosan, with 23⅓ innings, one win, five holds, five saves, and a 0.77 ERA.
Park Myung-geun, who has been so reliable, was 19 years younger on this day. Even with the automatic four-ball, Park had to settle for the most walks in a single game (three) and the most runs allowed. His season ERA skyrocketed from 2.28 to 3.54.
LG ended its five-game winning streak and dropped from first to second place with a season record of 38-24-2. Second-place SSG Landers moved into first place with an 8-5 upset win over the Lotte Giants on Sunday, improving their record to 38-23-1.