He has been quietly fulfilling his role since the beginning of the season. This is the story of Kia Tigers bullpen pitcher Jang Hyun-sik.
As of the 11th, Jang Hyun-sik has a 4.30 ERA with four wins, three losses and 12 holds in 58 ⅔ innings in 58 games. He has played the most games in the team, and has pitched more than 50 games for four consecutive years, following 2021 (69 games), 2022 (54 games) and last year (56 games).
In particular, Jang Hyun-sik, who has been contributing to the team with stable pitching in the second half of the year, has been on the rise since the home game against the NC Dinos in the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League at Gwangju-KIA Champions Field on the 25th of last month, and has played multi-inning in all three recent appearances.
In the previous game, his team pitched a scoreless pitch at a difficult moment. In the game against the Samsung Lions in Gwangju on Sunday, he pitched in relief and secured a victory by allowing one hit, one strikeout and one strikeout in one ⅓ inning. He pitched in two innings at home against KT Wiz on the previous day, but showed his commitment to consecutive pitching. “I don’t know, but I think I’m in better shape after throwing a lot, so I confidently told (the coach) that I will take the mound as relief pitcher,” said Jang Hyun-sik, who met reporters after the game. 토토사이트
Before Game 12 of this season’s game against Samsung was canceled due to rain, KIA manager Lee Bum-ho said, “When I played against Samsung this season, bullpen pitchers showed good performance in the eighth and ninth innings, and when I asked (Jang) Hyun-sik, he said he could throw it. I appreciate it.”
“These days, I think we can turn the gap between 1 and 2 points at any time. I thought the team would be able to win by losing 2-6 and chasing 5-6, and I thought I should use the must-win group,” he said. “As Hyun-sik went up and blocked it well and hitters chased, the opportunity seemed to come in the bottom of the ninth inning. The game went well as I thought, as Hyun-sik blocked it well.”
The head coach also cannot be unaware that Jang Hyun-sik has played many innings all season. That’s why I try not to use Jang Hyun-sik too much. Manager Lee said, “Hyun-sik is throwing a lot of balls and the number of innings is high. So I try to be considerate of Hyun-sik and rest him, but he said that if he throws this ball and takes the mound the next day, he will be better in terms of physical fitness and condition. As a manager, I got to use Hyun-sik once more.”
Even if the game had gone well on Tuesday, Jang was scheduled to take rest. “I told him to rest as much as he wants today (Sunday),” Lee said with a smile. As the game was canceled, not only Jang but also Kia, which had been struggling due to the consumption of the bullpen, were able to catch their breath.