Hanwha Eagles secured the weekend winning series early amid the strong performance of infielder Lee Do-yoon, who destroyed “KK” Kim Kwang-hyun (SSG Landers). In the team’s atmosphere where the main shortstop position has not been decided throughout this season, Lee Do-yoon took the “key” on his own as a catcher.
Lee Do-yoon started as the eighth batter shortstop against Munhak SSG on August 17 and contributed to the team’s 8-5 victory with three hits, one home run, three RBIs and one run from four times at bat.
Both teams exchanged home runs from the first inning on the day. Hanwha, which led by a leadoff hitter Peraza home run in the top of the first inning, came from behind to lose 1-2 when it allowed back-to-back home runs to Choi Jeong and Herredia in the bottom of the first inning.
In his first at-bat in the top of the second inning, Lee hit a right double to right field off Kim Kwang-hyun to start the game in a fresh start, and entered the second at-bat in the top of the fourth inning with two outs and a runner on first base. And Lee hit through Kim Kwang-hyun’s fastball of 143 km/h at the first pitch, and hit a come-from-behind two-run home run with a flying distance of 120 meters. Lee Do-yoon’s homerun in the season.
In the top of the sixth inning with a 4-2 lead, Lee Do-yoon also entered the batter’s box with two outs and a runner on second base and hit an RBI timely hit to completely destroy Kim Kwang-hyun.
Lee Do-yoon could have achieved a cycling hit if he hit a triple in his last at-bat in the top of the eighth inning, but he ended the day’s at-bat by striking out swinging.
Hanwha confirmed the weekend winning series as starting pitcher Barria’s two runs in five innings and the bullpen, which started in the sixth inning, kept the team lead. 메이저사이트
In particular, Lee Do-yoon’s three-hit performance was crucial. Lee told reporters after the game, “I don’t think I’ve got a feeling of hitting yet. Since the opponent’s starting pitcher has good pitching, I decided to hit the batter’s box with the thought of hitting aggressively at a faster timing than following a difficult ball. I was aiming for a different course while throwing away the outside ball, but it was good as a result.”
“I thought the timing was too late for my first hit at bat,” Lee said. “I thought so. So, I expected my fastball to fly to the first pitch of my second at-bat. I just turned it around at the blink of an eye, and I was really happy that I got a home run (laughs),” he said. “I wasn’t conscious of triple at the last time. I was satisfied that I already hit a home run, so I kept going to the batter’s box with a comfortable mind.”
Lee played in 103 games this season and posted a batting average of 0.270/68 hits/one home run/36 RBIs/on-base percentage of 0.327/0.325. Lee and Hwang have continued to compete for the position of shortstop in this season. Still, Lee, who is drawing attention as a top shortstop choice in the Hanwha bench, is set to make a new impression with this matriarch’s home run.
“I think I thought more about baseball when I didn’t play in games. I kept running simulations to see what would have happened if I was in that situation. I had to prepare not only shortstop position but also other defense position, so I was busy waiting for the opportunity to play,” Lee said, nodding.
Hanwha has narrowed its gap with fifth-ranked SSG by 3.5 games by winning the game on Wednesday. It seems that they have yet to give up on advancing to the autumn baseball league.
Lee Do-yoon said, “I don’t think a single player has given up on fall baseball. I believe that good results will come to our team because all of our seniors and juniors are practicing and playing hard. Individual performance is important, but first of all, I want to help the team win. Team victory is the top priority.”