The bat of Samsung Lions outfielder Lee Sung-kyu exploded.
The former Futures Home Run King went 3-for-4 with a home run, one RBI, and two runs scored, including a solo shot in the bottom of the eighth inning to give Samsung a 3-0 lead in a home game against the Kiwoom Heroes at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu, South Korea.
Samsung defeated Kiwoom 4-2 behind a seven-inning no-hitter from starter Danny Reyes and a fiery bat from Lee Sung-gyu. It ended a four-game losing streak since April 25 against Sajik Lotte. “On offense, Lee Sung-kyu, who homered for the second straight game, was outstanding,” said manager Park Jin-man.
Lee Sung-gyu, who hit three hits, including a home run, for the second straight day, said, “Honestly, I haven’t been hitting well lately. I wasn’t happy with my balance in training. Luckily, I started to get hits one by one and things started to click,” he said.
“Hitting coach Lee Jin-young emphasized, ‘You have good power, you just need to hit the ball in the center of the bat. Assistant hitting coach Bae Young-seop helps me a lot in terms of psychology,” he said.
With the bases loaded and no outs in the eighth inning,
Lee Sung-kyu faced Park Seung-ju on a full count and drove a seven-pitch fastball (140 kilometers) over the right-field fence for a solo shot. His ninth of the season. 안전놀이터 추천 “I was in a situation where I needed extra runs, but my timing was off against their pitcher’s fastball. In a full count situation, there was a high chance of a fastball coming in, so I was glad I timed it well,” said Lee. Lee said.
Lee is on pace to reach double-digit home runs for the first time in four years since 2020. At his current pace, he could reach 20 homers. He said, “I’m not greedy for home runs. I don’t want to be greedy, and I don’t think it’s possible to be greedy,” he said, then humbled himself by saying, ‘If you do your best every time you go out there, the results will follow.’
The defense was just as impressive as the offense. In the fourth inning, Ronnie Dawson made a jumping catch in front of the fence on a big hit to lead off the inning, taking the pressure off starter Danny Reyes. MBC Sports Plus commentator Park Jae-hong, who made a name for himself as one of the league’s leading Hotazun outfielders during his playing days, said, “It’s not easy for a right fielder to handle, but he made a jumping catch at the end. It was a great catch by Hoseobi to prevent a double.”
Lee Sung-kyu responded, “It was a good hit, so I just took one look at it and ran. It would have been hard to catch it if I kept looking at it from the beginning. It was something my coach told me in training,” he said.
Samsung agreed to a trade with KT on Nov. 28, sending Oh Jae-il to the team in exchange for Park Byung-ho.
Oh, who joined Samsung from Doosan in December 2020 for a total of 5 billion won over four years, was a good person before he was a good player. He took care of his teammates and earned the trust of his teammates.
Lee Sung-kyu said, “(Oh) Jae-il had a very good influence on our team. He brightened up the team atmosphere. He gave us a lot of advice and often bought us food. He was a very good brother, and I was very disappointed that he couldn’t be with us anymore.”
“I haven’t talked to Byung-ho much yet, but he’s a legendary hitter who hit 50 home runs in a season, so I’m looking forward to asking him a lot of questions and learning from him,” he said.
The KBO announced the fan-voted roster for the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO All-Star Game on July 27, selecting the “Best 12” players from each club. Lee Sung-kyu was nominated as a Dream All-Star Outfielder. “I’m so happy to be included in the all-star nominations,” he beamed.
Lee, who hasn’t been invited to a star-studded event since his debut, expressed his desire to be with his best friend, Dream All-Star closer Kim Won-joong of the Lotte Giants. 카지노사이트 순위 “I’ve often said to Won-joong, ‘Let’s play on the same team someday,’ and I think this is our chance. I need the fans’ help,” he said.
Lee Sung-kyu concluded, “My biggest goal is to stay injury-free for the rest of the season. There are cycles in the season, and how you handle them is really important,” he emphasized.