"Autumn Baseball, I'm Less Tense Now" Confidence
I'm glad that I think my team aimed at winning."
LG Twins' Kim Yun-sik started Game 4 of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO Korean Series KT Wiz at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on the 11th, contributing to his team's 15-4 victory by pitching 5.2 innings, three hits, one walk, three strikeouts, and one run.
LG, which showed good pitching by Kim Yoon-sik, has only one win left until the championship for the first time in 29 years since its unified victory in 1994.
Kim Yun-sik, who had a career-high season with 8 wins and 5 losses and a 3.31 ERA in 23 games in the second half of last season, slowed down this season. He stayed in the second division for a while, failing to show last year's performance. He had six wins and four losses with a 4.22 ERA in 17 games.
However, LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop made fans laugh by pitching well on the most important Korean Series stage. It was a perfect pitch from the 1st to the 3rd inning, and KT's first on-base walk to leadoff hitter Bae Jung-dae in the 4th inning. Except for losing a point in six consecutive hits, it was flawless.
Coach Yeom said after the game, "Yoon-sik showed a better pitch than expected. He played his role as a starting pitcher by mixing fastballs and changeups properly, he said. "This time, it was a game that had to be thrown long in important situations." If all the bullpen had come out by Game 4, it could have been overwhelming in the rest of the game. Yoon-sik led a long inning," he praised. Fans also gave Kim a standing ovation.
Kim Yun-sik, who met after the game, said, "I'm happy that the team played a part in winning. At the beginning of the game, Hyun-soo hit a two-run home run and threw it comfortably," he said.
Following last year, he pitched well in fall baseball this year. He started Game 3 of the playoffs with the Kiwoom Heroes last year and pitched 5.2 innings with three hits, three strikeouts and one run.
"I've been going to the postseason since I was a rookie, so I'm less nervous now. Thanks to my good performance last year, I made it comfortable this time," he said.
LG and Kim Yoon-sik, who entered the Korean Series for the first time in 21 years, became the starting pitcher of the Korean Series in 7,677 days after Ravelo Manzanio, the winning pitcher of Game 2 with the Korean Series Samsung Lions in 2002. It's a meaningful record. The first game was lost. Ham Deok-ju was the winning pitcher in the second game and Ko Woo-suk in the third game. All of them are bullpen pitchers. There was no starting win in games 1 and 3.
"I think I was about three years old at that time," Kim Yoon-sik said with a smile. "From today's throw, I tried not to give a point, whether it was two or three innings." I did my best every single time I did image training," he said.
"It would have been nice to block it neatly until the sixth inning, but I think I replaced it because I thought my condition was low after getting consecutive hits. Still, it was a relief that I came down from a good atmosphere," he said with a smile.