Yang Hyeon-jong (KIA Tigers) had three consecutive victories ahead of Kim Gwang-hyun (SSG Landers) in the selection match for a left-handed pitcher born in 1988.
Yang Hyun-jong and Kim Gwang-hyun started side by side in the 2023 professional baseball game held at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju on the 9th.
The starting matchup between the two left-handed pitchers representing Korea has been held for the 7th time since September 26, 2015, in 8 years and 2,782 days.
The result was a complete victory for Hyeonjong Yang, who was beaten 3-0.
Yang Hyeon-jong allowed only 6 hits in 8 innings for the leading SSG lineup, which was running for 5 consecutive wins, and tied it up with no runs.
He struck out as many as 10 and gave only one walk.
The two types of sliders that fall from top to bottom and curve outward from the body were originally Kim Gwang-hyun’s proprietary patents, but Yang Hyun-jong threw the two sliders more perfectly on this day.
Yang Hyeon-jong, who caught all lead batters up to the 5th inning, allowed Choo Shin-soo to walk, leading 3-0, but struck out Choi Joo-hwan and Kim Kang-min in a row.
Then, in the crisis of 2 outs 1st and 2nd base, which was driven by giving Choi Jeong a heavy hit, Oh Tae-gon struck out with a strike out, not out, and put out the fire himself.
Yang Hyeon-jong, who threw 90 balls until the 7th inning, made Kim Kang-min a floating ball in center field in the 8th inning with 2 outs and 2nd base and passed the final hurdle.
Kim Gwang-hyeon gave up 3 runs in 6 innings due to difficulties in controlling the ball while playing full-count battles with KIA hitters on 4 occasions.
In the fourth inning, 0-0, with two outs and first base, he threw a flat changeup to Woo-hyuk Byun, who had good power, and hit a preemptive two-run home run that slightly crossed the left fence.
In the 5th inning, after one out, Park Chan-ho allowed a hit to the right and a stolen second base, and then Ji-hyeok Ryu gave a right-handed hit to the left, conceding the third run.
Kim Gwang-hyun got 6 hits, including 1 home run, and gave up 2 walks, allowing 3 runs (3 earned runs) and leaving the mound before Yang Hyeon-jong. The strikeout caught six.스포츠토토
If KIA wins SSG without allowing a tie, Yang Hyeon-jong will win 161 total wins along with 2 wins in the season, and will jump to second place in a tie for the most wins in total with Jeong Min-cheol, MBC Sports Plus commentator.
In addition, since August 2018, it has continued its 9-game winning streak against SSG.
In particular, in the selection match against Kim Gwang-hyun over 8 years from the late 20s to the mid-30s, he runs 3 wins in a row.
In the regular league of the KBO league, it is hard to see the shoulder confrontation between the aces.
It is because the managers are reluctant to match up with the ace in consideration of the morale of the team and the ace when they lose.
The confrontation between Kim Gwang-hyun and Yang Hyeon-jong took place after 8 years was purely thanks to the rain that fell across the country during the Children’s Day holiday.
Kim Gwang-hyun was originally scheduled to pitch on this day, and a big match was made a reality when KIA, who had to play 4 games due to rain, released Yang Hyeon-jong after adjusting the starting lineup.
The two, who played as the eldest brothers on the mound for the Korean national baseball team in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in March of this year, met the fans’ expectations with a luxury pitching match worthy of their name.