Even though the KIA Tigers lost, there was income. ‘Baby Tiger’ is now the tip of the calculation. Even the veteran right-handers representing the league’s leading SSG Landers tilted their heads.
KIA lost 3-5 against Gwangju SSG on May 11th. After exchanging 1 win and 1 loss in the midweek series, the two teams aimed for a winning series with Yoon Young-cheol and Oh Won-seok on the starting mound on the 11th.
On this day, Yoon Yeong-cheol was hit in a row by Shin-soo Choo and Seong-han Park in the beginning of the first inning and fell into a crisis. However, Yoon Young-cheol struck out on a swing with a 126km/h changeup after a 7-pitch match against the follow-up hitter, veteran Kim Kang-min. Then, Yoon Young-chul, who caught Choi Jeong with a floating ball in right field, scored an RBI in a timely manner by Hanyu-seom and scored the first run. In the ensuing 2nd out 1st and 3rd base crisis, Kim Seong-hyun was caught as a floating ball in center field and the inning was finished.
KIA rookie pitcher Yoon Young-cheol has been showing stable 5-inning pitching in the last 3 games in a row. Photo = Reporter Cheon Jeong-hwan
Yoon Yeong-chul, who passed the second inning without conceding, faced the biggest crisis in the top of the third. Yoon Young-cheol, who was hit by Kim Kang-min after one out, gave Hanyu Island a RBI double at the right time, giving the score a 2-2 tie. Then, Kim Seong-hyun also gave up 1 RBI and a double in the middle left, allowing a 2-3 reversal.안전놀이터
Yoon Yeong-chul caught Oh Tae-gon with a swinging strikeout through his long-term 122km/h changeup and overcame the crisis again.
Yoon Young-cheol’s resilience was amazing. Yoon Young-chul, who immediately found his pitching pace, made the 4th and 5th innings consecutive three-way strikes.
In particular, the scene in which he finished the inning by striking out Kang-Min Kim and Jeong-Choi on consecutive swings in the beginning of the 5th inning was impressive. Against Kim Kang-min, he had a 137km/h outside fastball and a 126km/h changeup against Choi Jeong, making the bat go awry. Even though it was the third at-bat on the day, winning a number fight to the extent that the league’s top veteran right-handed hitters tilted their heads was a picture that showed Yoon Young-chul’s talent without filtering.
On this day, Yoon Young-chul recorded 6 hits, 5 strikeouts, 1 walk and 3 runs in 5 innings. Yoon Young-chul, who pitched 3.2 innings in his KBO League debut match (against Gocheok Kiwoom on April 15), where there was a question mark, and 4.1 innings in the next start (April 21 against Samsung in Gwangju), played 5 innings in all three subsequent appearances. It shows a stable flow.
Yoon Young-cheol, the youngest member of the KIA, has been showing an active performance to occupy a spot on the stage of the 1st team from the first year of joining. Photo = Reporter Cheon Jeong-hwan
The expectation for Yun Young-cheol, who is a rookie in his first year and has been assigned the 5th starter, is 5 innings or more and 3 runs or less. If Yun Young-cheol maintains the current pitching trend, it is expected that he will fully play the role that the KIA bench wants.
KIA coach Kim Jong-guk said, “Youn Young-chul is a strong friend. He said, “I plan to continue to put it in the full-time starting rotation this season, but next year he will be better.
It would be the best scenario if Yun Young-cheol was consistently managed in the line of 80-90 pitches in 5 innings as planned by coach Kim. KIA has already helped Eui-ri Lee to leap forward as a full-time selection by systematic selection management in the first year of joining. The same goes for Yoon Young-cheol. Like Eui-ri Lee, Yeong-chul Yoon also took the opportunity to become a ‘baby tiger’ that would become even scarier in his second year under systematic management.
Above all, you can see how great the KIA bench’s love for the ‘baby tiger’ is just by Yang Hyeon-jong, Sean Anderson, and Yoon Young-chul in the third order in the next start. I am already looking forward to the next start of Yoon Young-chul, who will challenge for his second win of the season.