The LG Twins bullpen, which has dominated professional baseball for the past two years, is shaking.
It was because Ko Woo-seok, who throws a cannonball fastball, was out of action due to shoulder inflammation and back pain, and Jung Woo-young, the sure-win setup man, was also beaten.
Jung Woo-young took the mound in the 7th inning with a 1-0 lead against the Kiwoom Heroes on the 10th, allowing 1 walk and 2 hits while catching 1 out count and allowing 3 runs, becoming the losing pitcher.
When Jung Woo-young failed in his mission, LG’s salvation team collapsed, contributing 9 points only in the 7th inning and losing 1-11.
Jung Woo-young throws a ground ball induction-type two-seam fastball approaching 150 km per hour as his main weapon. However, this year’s crisis came when the two-seam’s ball tip was not as good as in previous years, allowing concentration strikes.
Jung Woo-young, who appeared on the mound without a run on third base, caught Lee Hyung-jong with a two-seam fastball and grounded shortstop, then threw 9 balls to Park Chan-hyuk to walk.
Park Chan-hyeok kept clearing Jung Woo-young’s two-seam with fouls, and the curve that Jung Woo-young chose as the deciding ball was out of the strike zone.
In the end, Jung Woo-young threw two hearts at Lim Byung-wook, but left the mound with a sweeping double that went well beyond the height of a center fielder.
Even Byung-wook Lim stepped on the home plate when Ji-young Lee hit, and Woo-young Jung’s earned run increased to 3 points.
On the 16th of last month, there was also a scene where the LG bullpen helplessly lost a lot of points when Jung Woo-young stumbled.
Jung Woo-young, who took the mound in the 8th inning with a 4-3 lead in the match against the Doosan Bears, took two outs well and was hit by Ahn Jae-seok at second base with two outs and gave up a hit to tie the score안전놀이터.
Jung Woo-young, who was shaken sharply, allowed Ahn Jae-seok to steal second base and Lee Yoo-chan to hit the ball and gave it a hard hit. Yoo Young-chan, who received the baton, was hit with a triple by runner Jung Soo-bin, and Jung Woo-young’s run increased to 3 points (without an ERA), and LG lost 5-10 by giving 6 points only in the 8th inning.
Commentator Park Yong-taek, who relayed the game on the 10th, pointed out the cause of the beating, saying, “Jung Woo-young is actually a one-pitch pitcher (throwing only two-seam),” and “batters are familiar with Jung Woo-young’s two-seam and prepare well.”
Jung Woo-young, who failed to achieve a remarkable result in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) baseball team in March this year, is struggling to escape from sluggishness in the regular season by increasing pitches such as sliders, curveballs, and forkballs.
However, his visible effects are yet to come. Jung Woo-young, who won the hold king with 35 holds last year following 20 holds in 2020 and 27 holds in 2021, is sluggish this year with 4 losses, 6 holds, and an ERA of 6.00 without a win.
His on-base percentage per inning (WHIP) didn’t deteriorate much at 1.50, but his batting average soared to 0.302. The ratio of ground balls divided by floating balls is on a steady downward trend, from 5.22 in 2021 to 4.55 last year and to 3.43 this year.
The average ERA of the LG bullpen has also risen significantly as the two main axes of the fighting team suffer from injuries and sluggishness.
The average ERA of the LG bullpen, which boasted first place in the league with 3.28 in 2021 and 2.89 in 2022, fell to 6th (4.18). Even if Park Myeong-geun, Yoo Young-chan, and Ham Deok-ju and other ‘reserve soldiers’ newly joined the winning team, if Jung Woo-young and Ko Woo-seok do not find their skills, LG will continue to suffer from back door problems this year.