“I felt the home run as soon as I hit it. It felt so good.”
Samsung Lions shortstop Lee Jae-hyun, 20, injured his right shoulder on April 4 against the Hanwha Eagles. He fell while chasing down a fly ball in the outfield. As a result, he was left out of the starting lineup against Hanwha on Friday. Manager Park Jin-man said, “We’ll have to check his condition by tomorrow.”
Second-year infielder Kim Young-woong, 20, replaced Lee Jae-hyun in the No. 8 spot. It was his first start at shortstop this season. Young-woong was a classmate of Jae-hyun Lee. Lee was drafted in the first round of the 2022 rookie draft and Kim was drafted in the second round. They are expected to anchor the Samsung infield.
Kim Young-woong led off the game with a home run. He led off the bottom of the fourth inning with a 2-0 lead. On a 2B2S count, he took a seven-pitch slider from Hanwha left-hander Kim Ki-joong. He fired up the cannon five months after hitting his first home run of the season on May 16 against the KT Wiz.
It was his second home run of the season and third of his career. It was a meaningful ‘shot’ that led to a 3-1 victory.
“I thought it was a study to be in the dugout and watch my brothers, and I think it’s a study every time I watch a game,” said Kim Young-woong. “I’ve only played shortstop 바카라사이트 since high school, so there was nothing awkward about it, and I practiced shortstop a lot with the pros, so it was fun and there was no pressure.”
Samsung’s bottom of the order showed their strength. In the bottom of the second inning, No. 9 Lee Sung-kyu hit the game-winning hit.
Coach Park Jin-man said, “It was a difficult situation because we were missing players due to injuries, but Buchanan was perfect with his ace-like pitching. In the bottom of the order, Kim Young-woong and Lee Sung-gyu made valuable hits to keep the team in a good flow.”