Kiwoom Heroes’ An Woo-jin started the 13th game home match between the Lotte Giants and the team of the 2023 Shinhan Bank 토토사이트SOL KBO League held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 19th and pitched for 6 innings. With 97 pitches, 4 hits, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts and 2 runs (2 earned), he got his 8th win (7th loss) of the season.
Ahn Woo-jin, the undisputed KBO League ‘ace’, failed to build a victory despite fighting against Gocheok Lotte on the 8th with 4 hits, 4 walks, 6 strikeouts and 1 run (non-own) in 5⅔ innings. At that time, An Woo-jin’s pitching was definitely not bad. However, he was quite different from his usual form, giving up 4 walks and parrying a whopping 104 pitches in 5⅔ innings, but he was removed from the first team the next day.
At the time, coach Hong Won-ki said, “Ahn Woo-jin is struggling on the mound alone and fighting back, but there are concerns because he has a lot of walks and struggles from the beginning of yesterday (8th).” And I felt something strange when I saw a ball fly that I hadn’t seen before. Even if it was urgent, I decided that it would be better to skip a turn in order to protect the player.”
Ahn Woo-jin, who returned after taking a break for 10 days, was not in 100% condition, but he was clearly in better shape than the previous appearance.
The flow at the beginning of the game was not very good, but he showed the least run pitch. In the first inning, Ahn Woo-jin was hit in a row by Ahn Kwon-soo and Kim Min-seok, and faced a big crisis with no 2nd and 3rd bases. Here, Ahn Woo-jin induces Lee Jung-hoon to ground the first baseman, exchanging 1 outcount for 1 run, striking out the follow-up hitter Jeon Jun-woo, and turning An Chi-hong into a floating ball for the second baseman to start the game.
Mistakes continued. But it didn’t give me many points. After being hit by Noh Jin-hyeok in a situation where there was no runner in the second inning, Ahn Woo-jin gave up consecutive walks to Yoo Kang-nam and Lee Hak-joo, causing a crisis with a full base. Here, too, his crisis management skills shone. Ahn Woo-jin exchanged 1 point with the follow-up hitter Ahn Kwon-su’s outcount, then set Kim Min-seok back with a straight hit to center fielder, overcoming a major crisis with only one run.
After conceding runs in the first or second innings, Ahn Woo-jin’s pitching was close to perfection. Ahn Woo-jin tied Lotte’s main batting line, leading to Lee Jeong-hoon, Jeon Jun-woo, and Ahn Chi-hong, in the 3rd inning with a tripartite, and in the 4th inning, he ended the inning with a double stroke. And in the 5th inning, Lee Hak-joo, Ahn Kwon-soo, and Kim Min-seok were all turned into criminals, recording a three-way offense once again. .
Ahn Woo-jin, who met with the reporters after the game, said, “This time I took a break and didn’t pitch the bullpen once. I thought I needed a break, so I only played catch yesterday (18th), but when I got on the mound, it felt different because it was a game. .I think skipping pitching once had an effect. But after throwing one or two times, I felt like my senses came back, so it was okay,” he looked back on the game.
What was your condition like before being eliminated from the first team? Ahn Woo-jin said, “I seem to have been tired. I was able to recover well thanks to the coach’s removal at the timing to enter the turn on the 4th.” I thought about balance and focused on throwing accurately. I didn’t strike out a lot, and my pitch wasn’t as good as before, but I tried to throw accurately and used a lot of breaking balls, so it seems to have improved.”
Director Hong Won-ki observed Ace’s moves that he hadn’t done before before expunging Ahn Woo-jin. Ahn Woo-jin explained, “I don’t know. I think the coach sees it best up close. I think it’s an act that came out unconsciously on the mound, but I’m trying to reduce such expressions as much as possible.”
Even if you throw the same number of pitches in the same inning, if victory does not follow, psychological fatigue will inevitably accumulate. The command tower was also concerned that An Woo-jin might be injured in this part. Ahn Woo-jin said, “No matter how good pitching is, there seems to be more pressure if the team loses.
Although there is a high possibility that it will not be in contact with fall baseball now, there are only two wins left until 10 wins in a row for two consecutive years. Ahn Woo-jin said, “I really want to win 10 times. Now I think there are about 10 rotations left.