After the decision to cancel the rain in the second round of the playoffs on Monday afternoon, LG Twins felt a sense of relief that they rested at the first base. Still, tension was felt between the coaches of the training and pitching parts and manager Yeom Kyung-yeop. He had to make a decision to replace the starting pitcher.
The KBO said on Monday that the second playoff game between the LG Twins and the Samsung Lions for the “2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO Postseason” that was scheduled to take place at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu has been canceled due to rain. Rain that began at 3 p.m. has gradually increased and the game has become so strong that it is difficult to proceed. At 4:45 p.m., the KBO announced the cancellation of the game. It was the sixth playoff and the 20th postseason rain cancellation.
When the decision was made to cancel the rain, LG coaches became busy. Detrick N.S., who was scheduled to take the mound as a starting pitcher, was called in. Moments later, Yeom Kyung-yeop and the related coaching staff met each other. Then, the team decided to replace the starting pitcher. It was a short time in less than 10 minutes, but after serious discussions, the team made an important decision.
At 4:55 a.m., five minutes before the briefing, Yeom met reporters who finished the interview with the players in the dugout near the first base. “Heaven helped me,” smiling, Yeom said, “Son Joo-young tomorrow.” At the same time, LG’s decision to replace the starting pitcher was also passed on to the KBO. “The starting pitchers for the second round are Son Joo-young from LG and Won Tae-in from Samsung,” the KBO said at 4:56 a.m.
In a briefing that began at 5 p.m., Yeom Kyung-yeop said, “Tomorrow’s game is important. I will use Son Ju-young. Instead, Detrick N.S. will play in the fourth round.”
“I checked everything. The speed of recovery is also important. The most important thing is the athlete’s will. The training part is also okay,” Son said. “I thought I would use Son for the second round when it rains. I made the decision after listening to the opinions of the coaches.”
Manager Yeom Kyung-yeop and Team Owner 꽁머니 has devised a strategy to select Son as a starting pitcher for the second round since the semi-playoff. As such, he has displayed strong pitching capability that he can trust with a must-win card. However, due to objection by the training part that it is difficult to start after two days off, he decided to leave the second round to Ence instead of Son. The situation has changed due to the cancellation of rain on Wednesday.
Son pitched 144 ⅔ innings in 28 games this year, achieving his first regular innings since his debut. He failed to secure double-digit wins with nine wins (10 losses), but ranked second in Korean pitchers after Samsung’s Won Tae-in with an ERA of 3.79.
In the semi-playoff, he changed his position. He was in charge of long innings behind starting pitchers, and thus effectively blocked two games in Games 3 and 5. In Game 3 of the semi-playoff on Sunday, Choi Won-tae (three runs and two earned runs in two ⅔ innings), pitched five innings of two hits, no outs, and seven strikeouts, to secure a relief win. In Game 5 on Sunday, he allowed one walk and four strikeouts in two innings in the seventh and eighth innings behind Lim Chan-kyu. Kt hitters were so powerful that they could hardly cope with Son’s fastballs.
Son will take a three-day break after pitching 29 pitches, and take the mound again. LG will enter the second round with the goal of achieving balance by garnering one win and one loss.
Not only did he secure reliable starting resources, but it was also a rain cancellation that could have a positive effect on fielders who played in five semi-playoff games. Oh Ji-hwan welcomed the break, saying, “I felt heavy because of frequent daytime games.” Moon Sung-joo had to wait on the bench if the match was held on the 14th due to his poor hamstring condition. First of all, he will be able to take a day off and then review his chances of playing on the 15th.
Manager Yeom Kyung-yup said, “I wish I could take a day off. I thought it would help even a little. It rained a lot, so I think it helped a little bit. The flow of the series will change. Hasn’t the pitcher changed? ENS also gets enough rest and goes out. It will be effective in recovering.”
Meanwhile, LG lost four to 10 after putting in nine pitchers in the first round of the playoffs on Sunday. After starting pitcher Choi Won-tae allowed only five runs in three innings, a large number of pitchers who did not take the mound in the semi-playoff took the mound.
LG was completely inferior to Samsung in the starting lineup. Samsung starter Denny Reyes secured the win by allowing three runs and one earned run in six ⅔ innings. Although he was preparing to take the mound in Game 4 after three days of rest, he pitched more than 100 pitches, taking responsibility for long innings. On the other hand, LG lost control by giving more points from the beginning. After the score gap widened to 1-7, LG operated the game as if promising to play Game 2.
Son’s schedule was adjusted because of this background. LG is likely to readjust the order of its starting pitchers in the remaining games of the playoffs.