“My brothers want me to go into ML” Another ‘ugly man’ born with fire when meeting a foreign ace “I can hit, please move on”

Kim Sung-wook was the key to the NC Dinos’ semifinal victory in Game 1. In the top of the eighth inning of the first game of the 2023 KBO League semifinals against SSG Landers at Landers Field in Incheon on April 22, ML with the score tied at 0-0, Kim pinch-hit and launched a two-run shot to left field for the winning run.

On that day, NC struggled against SSG pitcher Roenis Elias. They managed just two hits against him until the seventh inning. In three appearances against NC this year, Elias has one win but a 7.53 ERA. In the final meeting of the regular season, on Aug. 8, he was tagged for seven runs on nine hits (two homers) with one walk and seven strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings, but this was a different story. He was aggressive, mixing a fastball that topped out at 151 mph with a mix of changeups (26) and sliders (12). In total, he threw 88 pitches for strikes on the day, a 70.5% strike rate.

After struggling with Elias’ command, NC had a chance in the top of the eighth. Seo Ho-cheol led off the inning with a single to the left side of the infield, but Kim Hyung-joon attempted to lay down a bunt, but Elias’ throw to second base threw the lead runner out. In this situation, Kang chose Kim Sung-wook as a pinch hitter, and Kim turned his bat as Elias’ fastball changeup (139km) was driven to center. 먹튀검증 The ball went over the left-center field fence for a single. NC’s first postseason pinch-hit home run. After taking the lead, NC scored two more runs in the top of the ninth inning on Martin Seo’s RBI single to overcome SSG’s late rally and take the first game with a one-run victory. After the game, Kim Sung-wook was named the Daily MVP of Game 1 of the semifinals.

“The manager didn’t give me any specific orders, he just said, ‘You can pinch-hit, so prepare well,'” Kim said after the game. “When I came up to bat, I wanted to play with the idea that I could hit with confidence, and I think that’s how it turned out.” On the home run, he said, “When I first hit it, I didn’t think it was a home run. I was like, ‘Please let it go. After it went over, I got a lot of congratulations from the bench, and it reminded me of home runs I’ve hit in previous postseasons.” “I don’t really know why, but (Kwon) Hee-dong said, ‘You’re not a good fit for the KBO. You should go to the major leagues,'” he laughed.

NC founding member Kim Sung-wook said, “I tell my juniors, ‘There’s still a long way to go. Let’s continue as usual,'” he said, adding, “I don’t feel too much pressure. We’re trying to bring the mentality to the excitement of ‘when will I play baseball again in this environment’ rather than tension.” “The season is over, and now it’s the postseason. I need to focus on my role and not worry about starting or pinch-hitting.”

Meanwhile, pitcher Shin Min-hyuk, who pitched 5⅔ scoreless innings to help his team win the game, said, “I think it was mainly because we increased our strikeout rate and played fast.” “I was nervous when I arrived at the ballpark in the morning, but I soon felt fine,” said Shin, who added, “I tried to induce ground balls with each pitch. I tried to throw without effort, and the results were good. I liked the changeup the most among my pitches today.” “I didn’t feel bad at all, I was praying for (Kim) Young-kyu to get the last out,” he smiled as he walked off the mound in the bottom of the sixth inning.