When on earth will the LG mound be 'not easily beaten' and the two finishers → El Dong-won → the main players for the championship will be completed within a month
When on earth will the LG mound be 'not easily beaten' and the two finishers → El Dong-won → the main players for the championship will be completed within a month
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When will LG Twins' mound, which is not easily beaten, be revealed? Amid the difficulties in keeping the lead due to continuous injuries, the injured players have finally decided to return to the mound.안전놀이터
LG lost all two regular season doubleheaders of the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League to KT Wiz at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on the 17th.
In the first round, the team lost 4-12 due to firepower, and in the second round, the team lost 6-7 due to fire by the bullpen and fatal baserunning mistakes. With this result, LG has 29 wins and 16 losses. The game gap has narrowed to one game with the second-ranked Hanwha Eagles (28 wins and 17 losses).
His performance was not satisfactory. The fatigue of the doubleheader was aggravated, but when the starting pitcher went down without even enduring the fifth inning, he also failed to keep the 6-1 lead. This is due to the bullpen, which has been worn out due to a series of recent injuries.
Even before the season, LG had a bullpen session without Yoo Young-chan (28) who finished last year and Ham Deok-ju (30), who won the title in 2023. Yoo Young-chan and Ham Deok-ju underwent elbow surgery in November last year, and are expected to undergo rehabilitation for more than six months. Worse yet, the newly formed Pil Seung-jo also left the team for two days. In order to fill the gap between Yoo Young-chan and Ham Deok-ju, LG signed Jang Hyun-sik (30) as a four-year total of 5.2 billion won and Kim Kang-ryul (37) as an FA contract for up to 1.4 billion won for 3+1 years last winter.
Jang finished the game, and as a setup man, he showed performance as expected with one win, eight saves and an ERA of 1.17 in 15 games, while Kim Kang-ryul showed performance as expected with one win and one save and an ERA of 1.46 in 12 games. However, Jang had fine damage to his right dorsal muscle on Wednesday, and Kim Kang-ryul was removed from the entry list for the first team on Wednesday. It was expected that Jang would spend at least three to four weeks and Kim would spend 10 days before he returns.
However, it is also good news. Yoo Young-chan is scheduled to return to the mound first. Yoo Young-chan, who started throwing the ball in late April, will have his first real game in a match against the Seosan Hanwha Futures on Saturday. "I think he will be able to take the mound in the first team as early as next weekend. If the ball speeds up to 145 kilometers per hour or higher, he can build up with the first team," coach Yeom Kyung-yeop said.
Next is second starter Elijah Hernandez (30), who earned the nickname "LG+Choi Dong-won" by taking the mound in all five games of KT and the playoffs last year. Hernandez was removed from the first team roster on April 16 due to internal muscle injury in his right thigh. To fill the void, Koen Win, 26, a former member of the Australian national team, is temporarily playing as a substitute.
Hernandez has already started pitching in the bullpen with his team members, and is expected to be able to start pitching in the first division as early as May 30. Win's contract will end on May 29. "I think Hernandez will be able to start as soon as the sixth week comes. I'm pitching in the bullpen at Jamsil, and I'll throw two games in the second division before returning to the first division," manager Yeom Kyung-yeop said.
Ham Deok-ju and Lee Jung-yong (29), the 2023 Korean Series winners, will return to the Korean Series in June. Lee has been cited as a contributor to the series, having returned as a starting pitcher in mid-2023, leading his team's winning streak. He joined the military athletic unit (Sangmu) soon after the season and is scheduled to be discharged from the military on June 17. "We believe that (Ham) Deok-ju will be two to three weeks later than (Yoo) Young-chan. I have developed a bone in it. I started throwing balls recently, and I think (Lee) will come back in mid-June," Yeom said.
Jang Hyun-sik and Kim Kang-ryul can also return in mid-June if things go well. With Kim Jin-sung and Park Myung-geun holding on, if Baek Seung-hyun, Bae Jae-joon, and rookie Kim Young-woo, who are gaining experience in winning, step up for a month, the strongest bullpen will be born.
Ahead of the match on Friday, Yeom said, "Players such as Kim Young-woo, Bae Jae-joon and Baek Seung-hyun have prepared well for this situation. The process and build-up went well enough, and the game went well to help people gain confidence. Now it is time to fight one by one (against a difficult situation), even if they are not necessarily injured players, and the opportunity naturally came (due to injury). Now it is important how much they play their part on the spot."
Ahead of the match on Friday, he said, "It is time for us to start running in earnest from the time when Deok-ju (Ham) and Jeong-yong (Lee) return. If other players are well-made by then, losing matches will not be easy to lose. If a losing match (with the power of the mound) is hit, we can make many come-from-behind wins. We did so in the year when we won the championship. At the end of the game, we will have a chance to come-from-behind, so we have to do our best within the circumstances given to each game until mid-June."