James Nail’s Korean Series start for the Kia Tigers is moving from miracle to reality.
On Friday, Nail threw his second bullpen appearance at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju. Nail, who had surgery for a fractured jaw joint, threw two sets of 20 pitches with a mouthpiece, totaling 40 pitches. “In the first set of 20 pitches, he threw only fastballs, and in the second set of 20 pitches, he threw his changeup with 90 percent power,” a Kia official said.
“Today, not only his pitches, but also his mood seemed to be quite good,” said Lee. “He threw for strikes and created different situations,” Lee said, adding, ”He didn’t feel any pressure (after pitching in the bullpen), and he didn’t have any jaw pain.”
Nail also pitched two sets of 20 pitches in the bullpen on the 22nd with manager Lee Bum-ho watching. After the first pitch, no pain or abnormalities in his jaw joint were detected, so he entered the second phase. Even though his fractured jaw joint hasn’t healed yet, the way he throws the ball without any effort is enough to arouse amazement.
“He throws with a mouthpiece,”
“He throws with a mouthpiece,” Lee says, ”and he doesn’t feel any pain when he throws at 100%. Lee told me to stop immediately if I felt any pain,” he said, adding, 카지노사이트 ”We have a re-checkup scheduled for the 30th, and we’ll adjust the schedule based on the results.”
If Nail is given the green light for full-scale training, he’ll be ready to pitch in the Korean Series. In addition to homegrown ace Yang Hyun-jong, Kia will also have a guaranteed win check in Nail, which will make their preparation for the Korean Series much easier.
“I think it’s possible,” Lee said of Nail’s chances of starting Game 1 of the Korean Series. ”It’s two or three days after any game. If you look at the speed of his recovery and his recent pitches, I think he can pitch in the first or second game.”