“It’s been a long time since I’ve started, but I try not to dwell on individual wins and losses. It feels good to be able to help the team win.”
KT Wiz’s Joo-hyun Kim pitched five innings of three-hit ball (one home run) with three strikeouts and two runs allowed in a surprise victory over the KIA Tigers in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on May 5.
KT won the game 5-3 and extended their winning streak to two games. With the win, KT secured fifth place and qualified for the postseason for the fourth consecutive year.
In an interview before the game, Lee said, “We’ve been having bullpen days lately because of the injuries to our starting pitchers. Today is also practically a bullpen day. I hope Joo-hyun can pitch as many innings as he can,” he said.
Jo lived up to Lee’s expectations. He gave up a leadoff home run to Kim Do-young in the third inning, but he held her to two runs until the fifth inning, setting the stage for the comeback victory.
In a postgame interview, Lee Kang-cheol said, “Joo-hyun did a great job in an important game. Congratulations to her for the win,” Lee said after the game.
Jo, who is 2-1 with a 6.82 ERA in 17 games (33 innings) this season, picked up his second win of the season, his first since last month’s win over LG Electronics (⅓ inning, two-hit shutout). It’s been 726 days since he won a start against Lotte on Oct. 9, 2021, while playing for SSG (6 innings, 1 hit, 4 walks, 5 strikeouts). It is also the first time he has won a start for KT.
Jo said, “It’s been a long time since I’ve started, but I’m not going to dwell on individual wins and losses. It feels good to be able to win for the team,” he said of his victory.
When asked about the secret to her strong performance, Joo said, “Today, (Jang) Sung-woo-hyung told me, ‘Even if you get hit, try to get the batter’s bat to come out.’ I tried to see the batter quickly, and I think that led to a good result.”
“I’ve been starting consistently in the Futures League this season, but I 토토사이트 haven’t had many good results,” said Jo, who expressed his gratitude to the coaching staff, “but I think (Koo) has improved because coach Kim Ki-tae and the coaches have been letting me play consistently.”
KT now has just four games left in the season. “There are only a few games left this season, and I want to throw the ball on the mound until the end without getting sick,” said Joo.