LG Twins outfielder Park Hae-min single-handedly scored 5 RBIs and defeated Kiwoom Heroes’ ‘ace’ Woo-jin Ahn.스포츠토토
LG won 6-3 in Game 11 of the season against Kiwoom Heroes of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League held at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on the 2nd and achieved the first 6 consecutive wins of the season. Leading LG, who secured the winning series with the victory on this day, widened the gap with SSG Landers in second place by 4.5 games.
If starting pitcher Lee Jeong-yong had a pitching battle with Ahn Woo-jin in six scoreless innings until the middle of the game, the sleeping batting line exploded after the 7th inning. The main character was Park Hae-min. Park Hae-min, who started as the 8th hitter and center fielder, recorded 2 hits and 5 RBIs in 3 at-bats.
Park Hae-min pulled a 5-pitch fastball from Kiwoom starter An Woo-jin at the bottom of the 7th inning with one out and bases loaded with a tight 0-0 match, and made a sweeping 3 RBI triple that exceeded the height of the right fielder. Afterwards, LG added 1 point to Jang Jae-young’s wild pitching when Hong Chang-ki was knocked out, and scored a whopping 4 points in one inning and seized the victory.
Park Hae-min’s activities did not end there. In the bottom of the 8th inning, he pushed Joo Seung-woo’s fastball from 1 out 2nd and 3rd base and called third base runner Oh Ji-hwan and second base runner Lee Jae-won home with a left-handed hit. Thanks to this, LG reached the beginning of the 9th inning with a 6-point difference, and was able to keep the lead until the end despite Jung Woo-young’s 3 hits and 3 runs (1 earned run) in ⅔ innings.
After the game, Park Hae-min said, “(Lee) Jung-yong played a match against the league’s top starter An Woo-jin, and it seems that not only me but the players were able to have a good game.” It would have been nice if they had given us the winning pitcher, but that part is a bit disappointing. Still, it feels good to win the game,” he said.
All hitters in the KBO League are picky about ‘League’s best ace’ Woo-Jin An, but Park Hae-Min is an exception. Not only this season, but since Ahn Woo-jin made his professional debut in 2018, Park Hae-min has shown a strong appearance in head-to-head matches. The total performance of the two players is 14 hits in 35 at-bats, a batting average of 0.483 and 4 RBIs.
An Woo-jin, who had a fastball speed of 158 km/h on the day, raised the speed gradually as the number of runners increased, and threw a curve with the first ball to Hae-min Park at the first baseman, and then threw four fastballs in a row. The An Woo-jin-Lee Ji-young battery tried to take advantage of the fastball-oriented game, but Park Hae-min, who did not back down from the opponent’s pitch, connected the fastball with a long hit.
Park Hae-min said, “I thought (Ahn Woo-jin) would throw a really good ball, and he would throw the most confident ball. I thought it was a fast ball, and trying not to miss the main weapon led to good results.” I looked back at the 3-base situation.
From the fans’ point of view, it may be thought of as a ‘textbook answer’, but Park Hae-min explained that in the end, ‘direct ball goal number’ worked. He said, “I think I get a good hit because I focus on the fast ball and hit it.” I think it’s because you just have to look at the speed and hit it, so when I match with (Ahn) Woo-jin, the timing seems to match well, so I think the results of the head-to-head match came out well.”
Park Hae-min, who was the number one contributor to the victory, stepped up to the 57th career 1400 hit mark in the KBO League history along with the 5 RBI game. Park Hae-min smiled and said, “Since I’m a player who focuses more on defense and running than batting, I feel really proud to have 1,400 hits.