Accumulated fatigue. Close battles that continue day after day. Seo Jin-yong, the number one saver, faced his first crisis of the season.
SSG Landers closing pitcher Seo Jin-yong is currently ranked first in saves. With 34 saves as of the 6th, there is a difference of 9 from second place Kim Jae-yoon (KT). There are now only two left in Ha Jae-hoon’s 36 saves, the most saves in club history.
However, recently, the number of games in which Seo Jin-yong falters is increasing. Until the end of last month, Seo Jin-yong was continuing his ‘no-blonde’ record of not having a single blown save. And on August 27th, against Jamsil Doosan Bears, he recorded his first blown save of the season. He came on the mound in the bottom of the 9th inning with a 5-4, 1-point lead and allowed a sacrifice fly to tie the score at 5-5. However, as SSG won in overtime, Seo Jin-yong became the winning pitcher even after making his first blown save.
Seo Jin-yong, who continued to pitch without giving up a goal in the next two games, gave up a goal and a blown save in the two games in which he recently pitched. In the game against the Incheon KIA Tigers on the 3rd, Seo Jin-yong, who was brought in early in a crisis situation in the top of the 8th inning when the team was ahead 6-5, allowed Tae-gun Kim to tie the game and recorded his second blown save of the season. Afterwards, he was hit by Ko Jong-wook and became the losing pitcher. The loss was their third loss this season.바카라
Still, coach Kim Won-hyung protected Seo Jin-yong. Coach Kim ordered, “So far, there have been more cases where Seo Jin-yong has helped us catch difficult games. There are aspects of fatigue that have accumulated over the course of the season. I would like to tell him to continue to be confident in the future.” Seo Jin-yong also courageously reaffirmed his resolve, saying, “I will do what I have done so far.”
But unfortunately, another blown save was recorded. Seo Jin-yong, who took the mound against the Hanwha Eagles in Daejeon on the 6th with the score tied at 5-4 and 1 run, allowed 3 hits in a row without a count in the bottom of the 9th inning, tying the score at 5-5. Seo Jin-yong’s heart grew even heavier as SSG ended up losing 5-6 in overtime after conceding a double play after conceding a goal.
Three blown saves in the last five games. Of course, Seo Jin-yong’s save acquisition probability has been so surprisingly good that the three recent blown saves do not detract from his overall performance this season. We must also take into account the overall decline in team performance in the second half of the season. However, it seems clear that the closing pitcher, who was on a roll, is facing his first crisis of the season. It’s Seo Jin-yong’s turn to show himself overcoming himself again.