KIA Tigers pitcher Yang Hyeon-jong (35) came down the mound with another great record with good pitching.
Yang Hyeon-jong started the home game against Kiwoom Heroes held at the Gwangju-Kia Champions Field on the 21st and finished the mission that day with a good pitching of 1 run in 7 innings. It was the content of the game in which only one shot was given out while striking out three against Kiwoom’s lineup.
Yang Hyeon-jong started the first episode cleanly with a tripartite offense. He threw only 9 pitches.
In the second inning, Russell hit in the middle and Lim Ji-yeol hit in the left and was in danger with 2 out 1st and 2nd base, but escaped the crisis with a check on the runner on 2nd base.
Yang Hyeon-jong caught Hyung-jong Lee as a hitter in the 3rd inning, 2nd out, 3rd base, and continued the scoreless march. He entered the fourth inning and gave up a left-handed hit to Lee Won-seok, but finished the inning without allowing a run.
The scoreless streak continued in the 5th inning. He allowed Lee Ji-young a right-handed hit, but he struck out one and all the other batters were hit.
In the 6th inning, Lee Hyung-jong, the lead hitter, gave a left-handed hit and the lead batter got on base, but the follow-up hitter was caught with a ground ball and double play to end the inning.
Yang Hyeon-jong also went to the mound in the 7th inning. And it was his first run. He gave up a walk to Park Chan-hyuk and an infield hit to Lim Ji-yeol, causing a one-out 1st and 3rd base crisis, and eventually Lee Ji-young allowed a heavy hit and conceded a run.
On this day, Yang Hyeon-jong played 111 pitches, 8 hits, 3 strikeouts, 1 walk and 1 run over 7 innings. He centered on his fastball (48 pitches) and changeup (43 pitches), mixing his slider (15 pitches) and curveball (5 pitches). The highest speed of the fastball on this day was 145km/h.
The strike (78 pitches) and ball (38 pitches) ratio was also ideal. Based on his stable control and excellent pitch, he gave only one point to Kiwoom’s other line.
Although he could not build the multiplier he wanted, Yang Hyeon-jong set a record on this day. In the top of the second inning, he took his first out count and stepped on the 2200th inning in his KBO league career. It is the 4th 2200 inning notice after Song Jin-woo, Jeong Min-cheol, and Lee Kang-cheol.
Soon after, he got his first out count in the top of the 7th inning and achieved a total of 2205 innings, breaking the previous record of 2204.2 innings (Kt Wiz coach Lee Kang-cheol), which was the third highest innings. He became the 3rd most innings by himself.
Yang Hyeon-jong said the other day, “Director Lee Kang-cheol is a teacher who taught me a lot from the time he joined. Until now, he has given me advice and support. That’s why he wants to change the director’s records to my name.” Like his promise, he broke the record of his gift with a consistent good pitch.
Yang Hyeon-jong entered the pro in 2007 in the 2nd round of the KIA, and played more than 100 innings every year, except for the first and second years of his 15-year debut, and 2021, when he challenged the American Major League Baseball (MLB).스포츠토토
Commentator Jeong Min-cheol’s record of 2394.2 innings, second in the most innings, can be achieved within two years if this trend continues. Yang Hyeon-jong’s most individual innings in a season was 200.1 innings in 2016. Last year, his first year back in MLB, he pitched 175.1 innings.
If Yang Hyeon-jong became the winning pitcher on this day, he could have climbed to second place with a total of 162 wins in the KBO League. He suppressed the Kiwoom bat by recording 7 innings and 1 run quality start plus (QS+: 7 or more innings and 3 earned or less), but the support of the batting line within the team was insufficient. Yang Hyeon-jong came down the mound in a situation where he was losing 0-1, and the record of achieving second place alone with many wins was postponed to the next time. In the end, KIA lost 0-1 to Kiwoom due to a follow-up hit, ending the 4-game winning streak. et16@sportsseoul.com