There wasn't enough time to prepare, but '153km boom!'... 2021 PS, a '17-win ace' with older players,

This day’s game was more important than any other game for Doosan. With the end of the regular season approaching, the result of the match against NC, which is in a fierce battle for the rankings, could have made a big difference in the rankings when all teams played 144 games. The head coaches of both teams predicted an ‘all-out war’ before the start of the game. It was Doosan who smiled in the inevitable confrontation. With Doosan winning, the competition for 3rd to 5th places became a close race.

At the center of escaping two consecutive losses are Jose Rojas, who played without a double in 'Hit for the Cycle', Yang Eui-ji, who exploded a three-run gun that widened the score gap, and Heo Gyeong-min, who swung a fire bat with multiple hits including a home run, and many others. There were many players, but Lee Young-ha performed the most brilliantly. He took over the baton from starter Jang Won-jun and pitched three scoreless innings.

Lee Young-ha stood on the mound in the top of the third inning with two outs and a runner on first base, with a slight lead of 2-1. Coach Lee Seung-yeop announced before the game that he would have Lee Young-ha stand by after Jang Won-jun, but at that point, NC's batting order had rotated once. As soon as Lee Young-ha took the mound, he led the first batter, Park Geon-woo, to a fly ball to center field on the first pitch (149km fastball), ending the inning without any major danger and starting the game.

The pitch in the 4th inning was overwhelming. Lee Young-ha faced a batting lineup of Jason Martin, Park Han-gyeol, and Oh Young-soo, and recorded a three-way strike by using a 136km slider, a 150km fastball, and a 136km forkball as 'winning shots' respectively, creating a 'KKK' inning. Lee Young-ha also stood on the mound in the 5th inning, and quickly accumulated outs by returning Kim Joo-won with a grounder to second base and Park Se-hyuk with a fly ball to left field. But here we faced a crisis.

Lee Young-ha guided the follow-up batter, Park Joo-chan, to a ground ball, but at this time, second baseman Kang Seung-ho made a catching error. And he was in crisis at first and third base, allowing a hit to Son Ah-seop. However, Lee Young-ha did not waver, and continued his scoreless cruise by handling Park Min-woo's fly ball to left field. And Lee Young-ha grounded out both Park Geon-woo and Martin in the 6th inning, and when Park Han-gyeol hit, he passed the mound to Lee Byung-hun and was replaced.

Although it was not a situation where the inning ended neatly and he left the mound, Doosan fans gave warm applause and cheers to Lee Young-ha, who went on the mound as the second pitcher and gave a solid pitch. And Lee Byung-hyun, who stood on the mound after Lee Young-ha, struck out the follow-up batter, Oh Young-soo, ending the inning, and Lee Young-ha's perfect pitch also ended in a 'happy ending'.

After the game, Lee Young-ha said, "(Yang) Eui-ji threw with his mitt focused, and that led to a good result." When asked why the pitch was good today, he answered, "I think it's the mind and mentality. We have to win somehow." "It was a game. Before I even entered the game, I thought a lot about 'I'm going to win today,' and I think that helped," he said happily.

Although he was aware that he was pitching after Jang Won-jun, Lee Young-ha thought he would only pitch one or two innings. He said, “I knew that (Jang) Won-jun struggled in the beginning when he was starting, but then pitched well in the middle and latter half, so I thought my role would be to give him a leg up by pitching 1-2 innings when he pitched 4 innings. “Actually, it was a little difficult after episode 5, and it was very difficult after episode 6,” he confessed.

Lee Young-ha went on to say, "I couldn't throw because my legs were shaking. I thought it was my limit, but I was disappointed that I got greedy at the end and got a hit." When he said, "I covered 151km in the 6th inning," he said, "It's not that my arms were tired, but that it's been a long time since I hit." “(Long) throwing was really hard on my body physically. If I prepare well, I think I’ll be able to throw longer next year,” he said with a laugh.

Lee Young-ha’s pitching on this day was reminiscent of 2021. Lee Young-ha performed well in the postseason as a bullpen pitcher in 2021, with 1 win in 2 games (1⅔ innings) in the wild card game, 1 win and 1 hold in 2 games (5⅔ innings) in the semi-playoffs, and 1 win in 1 game (3⅔ innings) in the playoffs. innings) and 1 loss in 1 Korean Series game (1⅔ innings).

In the 2021 postseason, his total performance was 3 wins, 1 loss, 1 hold, and an average ERA of 2.84 after appearing in 6 games and completing 12⅔ innings. At that time, Doosan went down in history as the 'first' team in KBO League history to advance from the wild card game to the Korean Series, and it was safe to say that this was a feat achieved by Lee Young-ha and Hong Geon-hee.

Looking at the pitching on this day, we cannot rule out the possibility that if the starting pitcher falters, he will play the role of blocking long innings in the postseason. Lee Young-ha said, "It's just my opinion, but I think it's an advantage to have thrown a lot here and there. Being able to throw anywhere is an advantage. It's good to go out like this."

Lee Young-ha did not prepare properly for this year’s season. This is why, when he was in high school, he was singled out as a perpetrator of 'school violence' and ended up in court. Only after Lee Young-ha was found 'not guilty' did he return to the team and prepare for the full season and play. Nevertheless, he recorded his highest velocity that day at 153km. Lee Young-ha believes that 'now' is the process of preparing for next year, and he is working on the game.

He said, “I think this is the process of preparing for next year. I paid attention to the movement and speed of the ball, and it seems to have worked out well. I have expectations that I will be able to do better next year.” He added, “If I go to a big game, I will focus more and help others.” “I think that if I use better balls with confidence and use them well, I think it will be helpful to the team,” he said emphatically.

When Doosan enters the postseason stage, it remains to be seen whether Lee Young-ha can become the same 'secret weapon' as in the 2021 season.

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