“I thought about just throwing a slider, but when I got on the mound, I couldn’t think of anything else.”
Go Woo-seok (LG Twins) took the mound with 1 out in the bottom of the 8th inning in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League match against KT Wiz held at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on the 5th, and recorded 1 hit and 1 strikeout without allowing any runs in 1⅔ innings, earning his 13th save of the season. achieved.스포츠토토
Go Woo-seok took the mound in the bottom of the 8th inning with a 5-4 lead. The situation was not good. After Myung-Geun Park got one out, he allowed a double to Seong-Woo Jang and then walked Min-Hyuk Kim. With one out and 1st and 2nd bases, Go Woo-seok went on the mound. Go Woo-seok hit a ground ball in front of the shortstop against Lee Ho-yeon. After Oh Ji-hwan caught the ball, he immediately touched the second base and ended the inning by accurately throwing to first base.
Go Woo-seok, who overcame a major crisis in the bottom of the 8th inning, came on the mound in the 9th inning and caught the leadoff hitter with a fly ball to right field. He sent out a runner with the tying run on a hit by Moon Sang-cheol, but ended the game by hitting Cho Yong-ho on a straight hit to shortstop and striking out Hwang Jae-gyun.
Manager Yeom Kyeong-yeop said, “I thought the 8th inning would be the deciding factor, so I sent Go Woo-seok in at a faster tempo. Overcoming the tough situation and resolving five outs played a decisive role in today’s victory. I would like to praise Go Woo-seok for a job well done.”
Go Woo-seok, who met with reporters after the game, first expressed his gratitude to KT Wiz Park officials. The game on this day was suspended due to sudden heavy rain ahead of LG’s attack in the top of the 4th inning. 104 minutes passed from reorganization to restart.
Go Woo-seok said, “Today’s game had a long pause due to rain, and the officials here worked very hard. I want to say that I am very grateful. I was worried about the condition of the ground, but I think I was more thankful that the ground was not as bad as I thought.” .
On this day, the defense came out twice to help Go Woo-seok. In the bottom of the 8th inning, shortstop Oh Ji-hwan increased the number of outs by 2 with calm and clean defense, and in the bottom of the 9th, right fielder Hong Chang-ki made a splash and caught a batted ball off Bae Jeong-dae. Go Woo-seok said, “I received a lot of help from the defense. It was a difficult game, but I think I was able to get through it a little easier thanks to that.”
On this day, Go Woo-seok threw 22 balls. A mix of four-seam fastballs (14 pitches), sliders (5 pitches), and curveballs (3 pitches). Before the game, coach Yeom Kyung-yeop said, “Go Woo-seok needs to reduce his breaking ball rate.”
In response, Go Woo-seok said, “I fully understand what the coach said. However, because I am stubborn, I thought about just throwing a slider to show the coach before going on the mound. When I actually got on the mound, I couldn’t think of anything. So, the tempo was fast. “I just thought about throwing it,” he said.
He continued, “Ironically, the ones who increased the out count today (except for Hwang Jae-gyun) all caught it with a slider. It was also the one with the least risk of correct hitting,” and “Because I was out for a lot of time due to injury, the manager felt that my slider was relatively weak because he couldn’t see it much.” “It’s the same,” he said.
This season, Go Woo-seok was unable to play a proper season due to shoulder and back injuries. His performance this season is 39 games, 3 wins, 6 losses, 13 saves, 38 innings, 14 runs (14 earned), and an ERA of 3.32.
Regarding his current physical condition, Go Woo-seok said, “I think right now is the best. That’s why I think I was angrier in the last game (Jamsil against Hanwha Eagles on the 2nd).” He added, “I think my physical condition is the best, and in a way, every game is an important game. “I think that’s why I had a lot of meetings with my hyungs before today’s game, and I think I gained more strength as I went out with determination.”