The Samsung Lions in professional baseball are very strong.
Samsung won a thrilling 1-0 victory over the Kiwoom Heroes in the professional baseball 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 29th with the pitchers’ scoreless battle and Koo Ja-wook’s winning home run in overtime.
As a result, Samsung, which has won four consecutive games, including a sweep of three consecutive games during the week against Kiwoom, is nearing the top spot.
Samsung’s hot summer… “It’s not a dream” to win first place
Samsung blocked starting pitcher Hwang Dong-jae from allowing two hits and no runs in 5.2 innings. When faced with a crisis in the sixth inning, Hwang Dong-jae was put down and Oh Seung-hwan was deployed to put out the urgent fire. Choi Ji-kwang took charge of two innings and Lim Chang-min one inning, continuing their scoreless streak.
Samsung’s batters also remained silent as they were blocked by Kiwoom’s pitching staff. Starting pitcher Ha Young-min pitched six innings, allowing four hits and no runs, and displayed a great pitching match against Hwang Dong-jae.
At the same time, the game began to be extended, and Samsung’s Koo Ja-wook broke the balance in the top of the 11th inning. Koo Ja-wook, the leadoff batter, hit a 124km/h changeup by Lee Myung-jong and hit a solo shot over the right fence.
Samsung, leading 1-0, deployed closing pitcher Kim Jae-yoon in the bottom of the 11th inning to block Kiwoom’s last counterattack. Song Seong-moon’s victory was guarded by center fielder Kim Ji-chan, who caught a hit ball by jumping in front of the fence.
Samsung, ranking second, is spending the end of summer hotly by recording eight wins and two losses in its last 10 games. In terms of performance alone in August, the team is ahead of top-ranked KIA Tigers with 17 wins and six losses.
Backed by the upturn in August, Samsung narrowed its gap with Kia to four games. This is a good chance for Samsung to challenge for the No. 1 spot. Samsung will take a day off and play “two consecutive games of destiny” against KIA on May 31 and September 1.
Five years of waiting… Hwang Dong-jae, finally, the name value of the ‘first nomination’
Hwang Dong-jae is a “surprise star” who is contributing to Samsung’s rise. Hwang Dong-jae, who has been a top prospect since his high school days, joined Samsung after receiving the first round of nominations in the 2020 rookie draft.
However, he underwent elbow surgery from the first year of his debut, and he blew the entire thing until the next year. He won his first victory in 2022, but he still has only one career win due to his injuries and slumps.
Hwang Dong-jae, who lost his restraint in the aftermath of elbow surgery, increased his competitiveness by installing various breaking balls such as splitters, changeups, sliders, and folk balls. 메이저사이트
He sought the position of Samsung’s fifth starter, which was vacant this season, but he couldn’t even make it to the first team due to his unstable control. Hwang Dong-jae, who patiently waited for his chance in the second division, was finally called by the first team and received a passing score on June 30 against KT Wiz, scoring one run in five innings.
Hwang Dong-jae, who played his role in the bullpen in the first division as well, started the game against the NC Dinos on March 16 and pitched hard by allowing two runs in five innings. Although he did not become a winning pitcher, it was a game that demonstrated his qualifications as a starting pitcher.
Samsung gave Hwang another chance on the day, but failed to become the winning pitcher as it failed to receive support from the team’s batters again. However, for Samsung, which has been struggling due to the bullpen’s physical stamina, Hwang Dong-jae was very pleased with his outstanding pitching.
Hwang Dong-jae, who is already in his fifth year on the professional stage, has played 99.1 innings, the most since his debut so far this season, finally breaking away from a full-time prospect and jumping as Samsung’s main pitcher.
Attention is focusing on whether Samsung batters will give Hwang Dong-jae his second career win with a hot supporting shot in his next start.